Domestic helpers should have 20 per cent of their salaries deducted for using government services, a political group told the Financial Secretary yesterday. Maids should pay for Immigration and Legal Aid Department help and for having the Urban Services Department clean up after them on Sundays, said Hong Kong Progressive Alliance legislator Choy So-yuk. The proposal, described by a unionist as racist and shameful, could earn the Government $1.5 to $2 billion a year, she claimed. 'Filipino maids enjoy free accommodation, meals and medical services from their employers. They take nearly all their salary back home. 'They also enjoy free public facilities, such as having public places cleaned up [after they use them on Sundays]. Legal aid and the immigration offices also provide services for them which cost us a lot of money,' said Ms Choy. Alliance chairman Ambrose Lau Hon-chuen said Singapore charged maids nearly half their salary to pay for public services, meaning they took home about $1,200 a month. A domestic helper's wage in Hong Kong is $3,750 a month. Ms Choy said Donald Tsang Yam-kuen had said he would consider the proposal. But Wong Ying-yu of the Confederation of Trade Unions said the proposal was simply an attempt to exploit maids. 'The proposal not only discriminates against low-income groups, it is racist. It is shameful to suggest such an idea. If you did this anywhere else . . . you would be strongly criticised,' he said. 'They are neglecting the commitment of maids to society. Many families and professionals have been able to go back to work since they employed maids.'
