Leave Basic Law out of debate: Regina Ip
The labour chief was warned yesterday not to 'drop constitutional bombs' over the maid levy just so the government could have its way.
This came after Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung Kin-chung told legislators he was awaiting a written opinion from the Department of Justice on Basic Law questions related to the levy.
Mr Cheung was speaking at a meeting of a subcommittee scrutinising an amendment notice to the Employees Retraining Ordinance, suspending for two years a HK$400 monthly levy on employers of foreign domestic helpers.
The government has suspended the levy for two years until July 31, 2010. A legislative procedure to approve the two-year suspension retrospectively is now undergoing 'negative vetting' - meaning it will become law unless an objection is received.
Independent lawmaker Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee is proposing an amendment to totally scrap the levy, while three amendments have been tabled for the suspension of the levy for five, 10 or 49 years.