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| Polo service counters (File photo) |
Hundreds of domestic workers and musicians who either got
sick of Covid-19, lost their jobs or both, have been swarming the Philippine
Overseas Labor Office for the past several weeks to apply for financial aid
from the government.
Hong Kong Immigration figures show the number of Filipino
domestic workers who lost their jobs last month alone numbered more than 3,000.
From January, the figure was almost 5,000.
As for the musicians, a total of 69 were either infected or
quarantined, leading to loss of income, according to Manuela D. Lo, chairperson
of the Hong Kong Musicians Union, who has been helping them with their claims.
All of them stand to receive US$200 from the Department of
Labor and Employment’s Akap Program, which is given to overseas Filipino
workers who lost their incomes or jobs as a result of the pandemic.
A further US$200 is given by the Overseas Workers Welfare
Administration as medical assistance for those who were stricken with Covid-19.
Mark Anthony Balcueva, drummer of an all-Filipino band that
played at bars in Wanchai and Tsim Sha Tsui, says he was one of those who
received the relief aid from both OWWA and Dole after his recovery from Covid-19.
“Ang bilis nga po, e. Pagkatapos kong mag-file ng claim,
isang araw lang ay binigay na,” he said.
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| Balcueva is unsure when he can start working again after Covid-19 |
Balcueva spent 18 days in Ruttonjee Hospital
Lo said 20 Filipino musicians were infected when the virus
swept through four bars – Insomnia in Central, Dusk Till Dawn and Centre Stage
in Wanchai, and All Night Long in Tsim Sha Tsui – during the last week of
March.
A further 49 suffered loss of income after they were classified
as close contacts of those who fell ill, and put in quarantine centers for 14
days.
Some of those who got sick are still in hospital and so have
been unable to file claims, she said. Of those quarantined, she said “some need
to wait because Polo has reached its quota, and is still waiting if more funds
will come from Manila
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| HKMU's Lo has been helping the stricken musicians file for financial aid |
Lo says she’s “very pleased” with how OWWA has responded to the
musicians’ request for assistance.
The figures for the domestic workers who have applied and/or
received the financial grants are more murky because Polo officers decline to
release information to the media without prior approval from the Dole head
office in Manila
But at around noon today, May 6, about 25 domestic workers
gathered in the conference room of the Polo offices in Wanchai, filling out
application forms for the Akap program.
A cranky female staff stopped The SUN from taking pictures,
saying this was no longer allowed inside the Polo offices.
But she grudgingly revealed that hundreds of workers had
already availed of the cash assistance program.
“Nakapag-release na kami ng 200, magri-release pa kami ng
200,” she brusquely said, but would not give exact figures.
One of the applicants who said she was from Ilocos Norte but
declined to give her name, said she was dismissed on the spot by her employers
on Monday, but was given a month’s salary in lieu of notice.
Both her employers lost their jobs as a result of the
economic fallout from the crisis.
“Basta na lang akong sinabihan na i-terminate na nila ako,”
said the woman, who had worked for the family for just three months. (They just
told me suddenly that they would terminate my contract”)
She said she had previously finished her two-year contract
with another employer.
Another female helper, from Isabela, said she was the one
who broke her contract because she could no longer bear to stay with her
employers of just a few months.
“Lagi kaming nagsasagutan tapos ang pahinga, gabi na. Laging
mainit ang ulo, wala naman akong ginagawang masama. Ginagawa mo na nga ang
iyong trabaho marami laging tanong sa akin,” the helper said.
(“We always argue, and I only get to rest late night. My
employer is always in a bad mood even I didn’t do anything wrong. I’ve been
trying to do my job well but I’m always being asked a lot of things.”)
She however, said, that her employer agreed to let her go
amicably.
