Transcript of remarks by SLW on placement fees for employment of Indonesian domestic helpers at media session

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, on placement fees for the employment of Indonesian domestic helpers at a media session after officiating at the opening ceremony of the 8th Golden Age Expo and Summit 2023 of the Golden Age Foundation this morning (August 11):

Reporter: Mr Sun, can you recap in English? How would you ensure Hong Kong employers do not need to pay more to hire Indonesian helpers and not to affect their employment opportunities in Hong Kong? How would you ensure there will be more domestic helpers from other countries such as Cambodia?

Secretary for Labour and Welfare: The key message we got back from the meeting between the Acting Consul-General of the Republic of Indonesia in Hong Kong and myself yesterday (August 10) is that, for any policy change concerning the hiring of Indonesian domestic helpers into Hong Kong, it must be conducted on the basis of Government-to-Government meeting. For that discussion, it must be based on mutual trust as well as mutual respect. I also made it very clear to the Acting Consul-General of Indonesia in Hong Kong that, for whatever changes being made or being contemplated for the hiring of Indonesian domestic helpers, they should not increase the burden of Hong Kong employers, nor should it affect the opportunities for employment of Indonesian domestic helpers in Hong Kong.

     As for my meetings with the other two Consul-Generals, i.e. the Consul-General of the Kingdom of Cambodia in Hong Kong and the Consul-General of the People's Republic of Bangladesh in Hong Kong, it's a very good start for us to explore possible ways to increase the number of foreign domestic helpers coming from Cambodia and Bangladesh. We've already had a few hundred from these two countries, but we want more to come to Hong Kong. With that discussion, we hope to start a dialogue looking for ways to increase the number of helpers coming from these countries.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)