Author Topic: Hong Kong court overturns maid residency ruling  (Read 896 times)

hubag bohol

  • AMBASSADOR
  • THE SOURCE
  • *****
  • Posts: 89964
  • "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool...
    • View Profile
Hong Kong court overturns maid residency ruling
« on: March 29, 2012, 10:22:34 AM »
By Beh Lih Yi | AFP News – 12 hours ago


Hong Kong's court of appeal on Wednesday overturned a landmark ruling that opened the door for thousands of foreign maids to claim residency in the southern Chinese city.

"It must be up to the sovereign authority to decide the extent to which the status of permanent resident should be conceded to foreign nationals," Judge Andrew Cheung wrote in a 66-page judgement accepting the government's appeal.

The High Court ruled on September 30 last year that Philippine domestic worker Evangeline Banao Vallejos had the right to request permanent residency status, something that had been denied to foreign maids until then.

But the government argued that the authorities had discretionary power to decide who was eligible for residency, rejecting arguments that restrictions on maids were unconstitutional and discriminatory.

The three-judge panel on the court of appeal unanimously accepted that argument, saying the High Court could not override the government's authority to decide who can live in the city and who cannot.

The decision will come as a major blow to tens of thousands of maids who could have been eligible for residency status if the Vallejos case had been established in law.

"It is a fundamental principle in international law that a sovereign state has the power to admit, exclude and expel aliens," Cheung wrote.

Vallejos's lawyers said they would take the case -- the first of its kind in Asia -- all the way to the Court of Final Appeal, Hong Kong's highest court.

"The interpretation of the law creates a second-class citizen," counsel Mark Daly told AFP.

"We will continue on to the Court of Final Appeal until we get justice."

The government welcomed the ruling and said it would not process any residency applications from domestic helpers until the courts delivered a final determination.

"The government anticipates that the present litigation will likely proceed to the Court of Final Appeal," Security Secretary Ambrose Lee told reporters.

Rights advocates said the ruling sent the wrong message to other Asian nations that relied on poorly paid maids from less wealthy countries to toil at jobs locals no longer wanted to do.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=48825.0
...than to speak out and remove all doubt." - Abraham Lincoln

Book your travel tickets anywhere in the world, go to www.12go.co

unionbank online loan application low interest, credit card, easy and fast approval

hubag bohol

  • AMBASSADOR
  • THE SOURCE
  • *****
  • Posts: 89964
  • "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool...
    • View Profile
Re: Hong Kong court overturns maid residency ruling
« Reply #1 on: March 29, 2012, 10:23:23 AM »
"It's not just about staying in Hong Kong -- we don't want to be excluded," Asian Migrants' Coordinating Body spokeswoman Eni Lestari said outside court.

The group represents over 10,000 foreign maids in Hong Kong, a glittering financial and banking centre of some seven million people, including almost 300,000 foreign domestic helpers mainly from Indonesia and the Philippines.

Lestari said foreign maids should not be treated any differently to other foreigners who flock to the semi-autonomous former British colony to find work as lawyers, bankers, accountants and managers.

Most are eligible to apply for permanent residency, granting them additional rights and access to government services, once they have lived in the city for at least seven years.

"What makes us different from others? We work very hard, we support our families too," Lestari said.

"We are bound by Hong Kong immigration policies and yet they use it to exclude us, this is clear discrimination."

Some officials have warned of a deluge of permanent residency requests if the Vallejos precedent is allowed to stand. But government figures of applications from 1998 to 2011 show no significant uptick since September.

Foreign maids in Hong Kong earn a minimum wage of HK$3,740 ($480) a month and receive other benefits such as one guaranteed day off a week.

Rights rights groups say however that they still face discrimination and a lack of legal protection from abusive employers.

Many live with their employers for years and send portions of their pay back to relatives at home, providing a huge source of foreign remittances to the Philippine and Indonesian economies.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=48825.0
...than to speak out and remove all doubt." - Abraham Lincoln

Book your travel tickets anywhere in the world, go to www.12go.co

islander

  • SUPREME COURT
  • THE LEGEND
  • *****
  • Posts: 46867
  • If you're from Pluto, you're welcome.
    • View Profile
    • Book Your Travel Tickets
Re: Hong Kong court overturns maid residency ruling
« Reply #2 on: March 29, 2012, 10:41:48 AM »
The group represents over 10,000 foreign maids in Hong Kong, a glittering financial and banking centre of some seven million people, including almost 300,000 foreign domestic helpers mainly from Indonesia and the Philippines.

Lestari said foreign maids should not be treated any differently to other foreigners who flock to the semi-autonomous former British colony to find work as lawyers, bankers, accountants and managers.

why, indeed, must they be treated differently when theirs are also careers?  from the looks of it, this is truly discriminatory.  but come on, even in our own country, foreign investors and expat executives are treated differently, even compared to the treatment of our very own tired ofws.  let's not kid ourselves. 

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=48825.0
Republic Act 8485 (Animal Welfare Act of 1998, Philippines), as amended and strengthened by House  Bill 6893 of 2013--- violation means a maximum of P250,000 fine with a corresponding three-year jail term and a minimum of P30,000 fine and six months imprisonment

Book your travel tickets anywhere in the world, go to www.12go.co

unionbank online loan application low interest, credit card, easy and fast approval

hubag bohol

  • AMBASSADOR
  • THE SOURCE
  • *****
  • Posts: 89964
  • "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool...
    • View Profile
Re: Hong Kong court overturns maid residency ruling
« Reply #3 on: March 29, 2012, 10:46:30 AM »
Kaya ba kaha ni nga challenge sa mga abogado ni Ms. Vallejos. We'll see the scattered...

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=48825.0
...than to speak out and remove all doubt." - Abraham Lincoln

Book your travel tickets anywhere in the world, go to www.12go.co

unionbank online loan application low interest, credit card, easy and fast approval

Tags: