It's not racist to pay the going rate for talent, chambers say
The international business community has warned the government against what it considers to be the anti-racism bill's unnecessary interference in corporate hiring practices.
In a meeting with Home Affairs officials yesterday, representatives of a number of chambers of commerce urged officials to speed up the bill's enactment but called for the scrapping of an exception they believed could affect packages they offer to attract staff from overseas.
The proposed exception allows companies to have different pay scales for locals and expatriates, but only if the expatriates have expertise not readily available locally and if they are not permanent Hong Kong residents.
Expat packages vary but often include perks such as allowances for home travel, children's education, tax assistance and housing.
Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce chief economist David O'Rear said it was 'kind of strange' for the anti-racism law to stipulate terms and conditions for the employment of expatriates.
'Nobody has offered anyone extra benefits because of race,' he said. 'Companies offer benefits to employees because that's what it takes to get them hired. Racial discrimination legislation is far too important to be hung up on micro-managing corporate human resources.'
