DH contract processing in HK suspended over levy snafu

HONG KONG - The immigration department here has suspended the processing of all work contracts for foreign domestic helpers until this month in the wake of uncertainties on when the levy suspension will take effect.

When first announced on July 18, the suspension was said to take effect for two years starting in September, but was moved forward to August amid concerns of widespread contract termination by employers keen to stop paying the levy.

However, recent reports said the levy suspension still needs to be passed by the Executive Council, and before this happens, implementing guidelines will have to be drawn up first.

In the meantime, contracts that have been submitted to the Immigration Department for processing are reportedly not being acted upon, and applicants are given "appointment cards" and told to return on certain days in August.

Among those who failed to get her new work visa as scheduled is Sol Pillas, vice president of United Filipinos in Hong Kong (see accompanying story), and one of a group of five FDHs who mounted the failed court challenge against the levy five years ago.

Pillas said she was told to return to Immigration on Aug. 8, but if her employers wished to get her visa processed before then, they would have to pay the full two-year levy of $9,600 upfront. Naturally, her employers opted to wait it out.

The same story was reportedly told to the Consulate by several other Filipina helpers who have submitted new work contracts to Immigration. They all have been issued "appointment cards" dated at various times this month, when the levy suspension is expected to take effect.

The system was devised by Immigration apparently to ward off concerns that hundreds of FDHs could find themselves without a job or a visa, while employers wait for assurance that they will no longer have to pay the levy once they sign a new contract.

Among those who expressed concern over this were officers of the Philippine Consulate who met with Immigration officials on July 20 in a bid to thresh out problems that could arise ahead of the levy suspension.

Vice Consul Val Roque, who was among those who attended the meeting, said they had tried to get Immigration to extend the work visas of affected FDHs, so they do not turn into tourists while waiting for their new contracts to be processed. Corollary to this, Immigration was also asked not to collect visa extension fees from the helpers.

The day after the meeting, however, Immigration told them that their request could not be granted.

Roque also said that they had tried to get Immigration authorities to consider extending the levy suspension to existing contracts. However, the authorities reportedly hinted that this could not be done without amending the Retraining Ordinance, which provides that no refund could be made for levies already paid.

As the uncertainties over the levy continued, many more FDHs were expressing fears for their jobs.

Among them is Meriam Asiong, whose contract is yet to expire in February 2010. She was reportedly told by her female employer that their contract will be terminated--presumably before the next levy installment becomes due in August--and a new one signed by her male employer. Asiong is worried that if she agrees, Immigration would see through the ruse and reject the new contract. On the other hand, if she resists, her employers might just hire a new helper.

Another, Marie Hidalgo, is due to finish her work contract on Aug. 18. Before the levy suspension was moved forward, her employers asked if they could hold off signing a new contract until Sept. 1 so they could benefit from the new rule.

This wait-and-see attitude is apparently prevalent among employers in the interim. Labor staff at the Consulate says that contracts submitted to them for processing have dwindled from about 400 to just 50 to 80 a day since the levy suspension was announced.

Clearly, even if more helpers are being terminated now, employers still prefer to sit it out while HK government authorities are trying to fine-tune a policy that has already caused much fear and anxiety among migrant workers. - Sun

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