No change to Indonesian helper fees, govt reiterates
Labour minister Chris Sun on Friday said any changes in the hiring arrangements for Indonesian domestic workers should not lead to higher costs for their Hong Kong employers. The official made the remark a day after meeting with the acting consul-general of Indonesia, who Sun said had confirmed there is no change to the cost structure of fees for Indonesian helpers coming to work in Hong Kong. Sun said he had also been told that an Indonesian agency association that visited Hong Kong last week to discuss a "new HK$5,000 fee for employers" did not speak on behalf of Jakarta.  The labour secretary said he had stressed to the acting consul-general that the Indonesian Manpower Placement Agency Association should not have made an announcement on its own, as its comments may have led people to believe that it spoke on Jakarta's behalf. "And I also made it very clear to the acting consul-general of Indonesia in Hong Kong that, whatever change is being made or being contemplated for the hiring of Indonesian foreign domestic helpers, it should not increase the burden of Hong Kong employers, nor should it affect the opportunities for employment of Indonesian helpers in Hong Kong," Sun said. Thomas Chan, who heads the Union of Employment Agencies, said the sector plans to correspond with Jakarta to get further clarification on the matter. Chan said he believes the Indonesian association did not come to the SAR without permission from the country's authorities. "They very firmly told us they came here not because of their own intention to collect [extra fees] from employers, rather they were under the instructions of the [Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Board] to come here and explain to the employers and Hong Kong agencies that they want to collect the fees," he told RTHK. Chan said agencies will not put up fees for employers just yet.