Legislative Council president Tsang Yok-sing has ruled in favour of Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee's proposed amendment to abolish the levy on employers of foreign domestic helpers and it will be tabled for debate in the chamber tomorrow. But Mr Tsang objected to Democrat Lee Wing-tat's proposed amendment that the government obtain Legco approval before resuming the levy after a five-year suspension of the HK$400 a month charge, on the grounds that it is beyond the 'legal scope of the authority'. Money raised from the levy, which was imposed in 2003, goes into the Employees Retraining Fund. Mr Tsang made the decision after considering Mrs Ip's submission that the fund was independent of the government and did not fall within the definition of 'public monies', a Legco paper says. 'She points out that the administration's submission does not provide an accurate description as to what amounts to 'public monies'.' In the paper, Mr Tsang said Legco's legal adviser shared the view in Mrs Ip's submission that the fund did not fall within the meaning of 'public monies'. The counsel further advised that the Employees Retraining Ordinance imposed no statutory obligation on the government to inject money into its fund. Defending his ruling last night, Mr Tsang stressed politics were not a factor in making his decision. He said he had taken into account different views and rulings by his predecessor. Mrs Ip said she was very happy Mr Tsang had upheld the principle of impartiality in his ruling. But Mr Lee expressed surprise. 'It is a law-binding motion. My proposed resolution is less radical. If Mrs Ip's proposed resolution is passed, then employers don't have to pay the levy any more,' he said. Migrant workers said that if Legco did the right thing tomorrow, a rally on Sunday would be a celebration for their long campaign to abolish the levy. But Philippine and Indonesian domestic helper leaders condemned their governments and consulates for 'not lifting a finger' to ease confusion over the levy's suspension. Eni Lestari, spokeswoman for the Asian Migrants' Co-ordinating Body, said: 'It is a victory then because it means to some extent 'total abolition' of the levy but we still believe the threat [to job security] remains.' The march on Sunday would call for 'job protection and job security for all migrant workers', said Edwina Santoyo, of Bethune House, a refuge for displaced helpers of the Mission for Migrant Workers. Ms Lestari denounced her Indonesian consulate for 'doing nothing' adding 'it was us who were releasing guidelines according to the ... government online FAQs about 'advanced renewal of contracts', for instance' to workers. United Filipinos-Migrante chairwoman Dolores Balladares said consul general Alejandrino Vicente had refused to call a meeting on the impact of the suspension, and Philippine President Gloria MacapagalArroyo avoided the group's protest at the Grand Hyatt during the Clinton Global Initiative Asia last week.
