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| Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac and HK Labour Secretary Chris Sun at the presser |
Hong Kong Labour Secretary Chris Sun said in a joint press conference with Philippine Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac this afternoon that the family of each foreign domestic worker who died in the Tai Po fire will get around $800,000 in total.
The bulk of the money will come from statutory or employee
compensation, which stands at least $514,510 for death that resulted from
work-related accidents or injuries.
Another
one-off financial assistance of $200,000 will come from the government as a “token
of solidarity,” plus $50,000 in funeral grant.
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“So all together, for foreign domestic helpers who died in the fire, they will be receiving roughly $800,000. That’s roughly equivalent to US$100,000” Secretary Sun said.
The financial support will not be used for funeral and repatriation expenses, as this should be covered by the insurance that each employer is obliged to take when they hire a FDH.
Sun also assured that the Labour Department will assist the family in securing the payout, and will ensure that only the rightful beneficiary will get the money.
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For FDHs who were injured, Sun said they will each get $100,000 or $50,000 depending on how long they had to be confined in the hospital. The bigger amount will be given to those who had to be hospitalized for at least a week.
“For those who survived, we will be providing them with $20,000,” he added.
In addition, the injured or those who survived the tragedy will be provided with $2,000 in Octopus card credit.
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| Maryan Esteban was the lone Filipina fatality in the Tai Po fire |
The financial aid will be provided to more than 200 FDHs who are on record as having lived and worked in the affected estate, more than half of them Indonesians and the rest, Filipinos.
“According to the information available to us, there will be a total of 235 foreign domestic helpers working in Wang Fuk Court,” said Sun.
“Among them, according to our record, 10 died in the fire, three are injured, 192 – they are safe, and there are still 30 who are missing.”
Nine of the 10 who died were Indonesians, with the sole Filipina being identified by the Philippine Consulate as Maryan Pascual Esteban. Two of the three who were injured are also Indonesians, with the lone Filipina being identified as Rhodora Alcaraz Tonacao.
Secretary Cacdac for his part relayed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s utmost sympathy for the loss of life and injury to Hong Kong residents, and gratitude for all the assistance provided to all Filipino domestic workers.
In
particular, he thanked the Hong Kong Labour Department for helping contact employment
agencies to track down the Filipino migrant workers listed as working in the
area, providing access to shelters so they could look for missing FDWs, helping
the Philippine Consulate set up a help desk in the affected area, and linking them
up with the Immigration Department so the work documents of the workers could
be restored.
Cacdac also thanked the Hong Kong government for looking after Tonacao, who was initially listed as critical due to smoke inhalation, but is now recovering after a successful medical procedure which he described as innovative.
“We’ve also been cooperating in terms of ensuring protection and provision of services to survivors, as well as the family of the deceased,” he said.
Cacdac said the Philippine government is also extending financial assistance to the victims, apart from providing counseling to the survivors who are suffering from trauma because of the incident.
The help to the victims will be extended to provide for the schooling of the children of Tonacao, and Esteban’s only child.
According to the latest bulletin posted by the Philippine Consulate, apart from one death and one injured worker, all 92 other Filipino domestic workers listed as working, or had worked in Wang Fuk estate, are safe and accounted for.
A total of 156 people are now known to have died in the fire which broke out last Wednesday and consumed seven out of eight residential buildings in the estate, where some 5,000 people lived.
