HK maid case with no effect in MSAR: lawyer

Representatives from migrant concern groups don’t believe that the court ruling in HK will have any effect in Macau regarding the possibility of applying for residency

Maria (not her real name), 57, left her hometown in the Philippines to work in Macau as a domestic worker in the 90’s. More than 17 years have gone by and in many aspects she still feels like a stranger in the city.
“I tried to apply [for residency] five years ago, but the employment agency told me the government wouldn’t approve it,” she recalls.
The lack of information is a problem for Maria, who has been working and living in the territory for almost two decades away from her family. “It would be more advantageous for me if I could get a white card [Macau ID], but I don’t know what to do and I cannot afford to pay a lawyer,” she bemoans.
She heard the news from Hong Kong where the High Court ruled on Friday the law couldn’t prevent domestic helpers from asking for residency in the neighbouring SAR.
Under the HKSAR law, foreigners can apply to settle in the city after seven years of uninterrupted residency. Foreign maids - like other expats -  must still fulfil other criteria before gaining residency rights, including providing proof that they planned to make Hong Kong their permanent home.
However, Macau laws are significantly different, said Zelina Rodrigues, a lawyer specialising in labour, immigration laws and Macau residency.
“The right to stay [in Macau] is different from the right to obtain residence,” Rodrigues told the Macau Daily Times.
“The right to stay in Macau is granted when there is a work contract between the employer and the worker. It is also necessary to have a dispatch from the Human Resources Office authorising that contract.

‘Macau law gives blue card holders the right to stay [in Macau], but that doesn’t add up to residency’

- Zelina Rodrigues

“But when the contract comes to an end the permit for staying in Macau also expires,” she explained.
Stressing that she does not know the Hong Kong laws in detail, the lawyer assures that Macau rules are “quite clear” in the field of residency rights. “Macau law gives blue card holders the right to stay [in Macau], but that doesn’t add up to residency,” she pointed out.
She went on to say that there are requirements in Macau to apply for residency. “Those qualified workers who want residency should apply through IPIM [Macau Trade Investment and Promotion Institute],” she said.

Minimum wage first

However, Rodrigues believes that the “lack of information” could create a movement in Macau similar to what is happening now in Hong Kong.
Evangeline Banao Vallejos, a Filipino domestic helper who has lived in the neighbouring SAR since 1986, brought a legal action against the government when she saw her residency request turned down.
Hong Kong’s High Court ruled Friday that a law banning foreign maids from permanent residency is unconstitutional in a landmark case that could pave the way for a flood of applications.
“The mere maintenance of link with her country of origin does not mean that [a maid] is not ordinarily resident in Hong Kong,” Judge Johnson Lam wrote in a 78-page judgement, the first case of its kind in Asia.
“Very likely people who are not aware of the [Macau] law will try to ask residency following Hong Kong’s example,” the lawyer said.
In contrast, migrant concerned groups in Macau are sceptic.
Indarti from the local Indonesian group ATKI-Macau has been based in Macau for six years, but she is not planning to apply to become a permanent resident here.
“If they stay for a long time in Hong Kong it’s their right to get citizenship as the court ruled. However, I don’t believe this will have any effect here in Macau,” she pointed out.

‘One should not forget that the introduction of lower skilled workers to do domestic tasks frees up higher skilled workers, increasingly women, who contribute more to the local economy’

- Tim de Meyer

According to Indarti, non-resident workers need to first receive better work conditions even before they consider the possibility of applying for the right of abode.
“Things should go step by step. If there is no standard job contract and a minimum salary, migrants won’t get enough income to support their life here for the necessary time to be eligible to apply for residency,” she claimed.
Catalina Yamat, chairwoman of the Overseas Filipino Workers Association Migrante - Macau, also does not believe that Vallejos’ achievement will make a fuss in Macau, even though she welcomes the Hong Kong court decision.
“Hopefully, the Macau Government will also give us the right to avail and some workers may ask for residency, but only some of them,” she said.
Yamat has been in Macau for eight years, but she had never considered requesting residency, because she doesn’t know what the requirements are. “If your employer wants you, you will stay here,” she concluded.
 
Not enough room

Several international and local organisations applauded Hong Kong’s court ruling.
According to Tim de Meyer, a senior specialist in international labour standards and labour law from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Hong Kong’s decision might be beneficial for the region’s labour market.
“One should not forget that the introduction of lower skilled workers to do domestic tasks frees up higher skilled workers, increasingly women, who contribute more to the local economy,” de Meyer said.
“And, as in any employment sector, increasing staff turnover is never good for productivity,” he added.
“This ruling is welcome. Since in the mid-fifties, the ILO has been advocating a policy of stabilisation of migrant workers who prove to be an asset to a national economy.”
“The ILO also welcomed an earlier decision by the Hong Kong Government to abandon plans for a seven-year residence requirement before migrant workers would be eligible for public healthcare benefits,” de Meyer added.

‘If there is no standard job contract and a minimum salary, migrants won’t get enough income to support their life here for the necessary time to be eligible to apply for residency'

- Indarti

The Philippines and Indonesia also commended the decision as a welcome recognition of the contribution of millions of citizens who work abroad; with Jakarta saying it was “a benchmark” for other countries to follow.
Gi Estrada, from the Mission for Migrant Workers, urges the Macau government to follow Hong Kong’s lead in granting permanent residency to blue collar workers as “there should be no discrimination in the SAR and as such workers have been part of its society and have contributed to its economic growth”.
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, the government plans to appeal against the court ruling, while a pro-government political party has warned the decision could see an influx of as many as 500,000 people - including children and spouses of foreign maids - that would cost billions of Hong Kong dollars in social welfare spending.
Outside the High Court on Friday, maid supporters duelled with groups opposing their residency rights, in an angry protest involving several dozen people.
“We are sad, angry and disappointed. A huge number of the domestic workers are going to migrate to the city and it will strain our resources,” said Jeff Lam, spokesman for Hong Kong Social Concern Group.

‘Hopefully, the Macau Government will also give us the right to avail and some workers may ask for residency’

- Catalina Yamat

Rodrigues also warned that this may be a “very sensitive question”.
“We should first undergo a detailed study on all the sectors of local society, such as education, health services, transportation, housing and more, in order to figure out if Macau would be able to cope with any new residents before we look into the legal issues,” she said, recalling that Macau is a very small city.
According to the latest figures from the Human Resources Office, in August there were a total of 16,041 domestic helpers in Macau, mainly from the Philippines (6,684), Vietnam (5,440) and Indonesia (3,638).
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, another court hearing will be held on October 26 to ascertain whether Vallejos can now be declared a permanent resident. Vallejos’s husband of 37 years, who is in the Philippines, said he would join her in Hong Kong, court documents showed.
Vallejos’s case is the first of five launched by Filipinos - the others involve a couple, and a mother and son. All five are seeking permanent residency and all the cases will be heard this month.
The Hong Kong Government said it planned to ask the court’s permission to not process any foreign maid residency applications until the appeal was completed.