The SUN HK

Polo suspends agency accreditation to clear backlog

Posted on 24 July 2019 No comments

Polo’s officer-in-charge Tony Villafuerte

By Vir B. Lumicao

The Philippine Overseas Labor Office has stopped accepting applications for accreditation of Hong Kong employment agencies until it has cleared a backlog of pending applications.

Polo’s officer-in-charge Tony Villafuerte said he and other POLO officers decided on a moratorium starting Jul 15 as applications had piled up since accreditation was opened to more players while staff numbers declined.

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At the moment, about 80 applications are still waiting to be processed, said Villafuerte, who has been designated as Polo’s top official after Labor Attaché Jalilo dela Torre’s term was cut short on Jul 7.

Polo posted a notice about the suspension on its website at the Jul 13 weekend. The cut-off for submission of accreditation applications was Monday, Jul 15.

“(Pero) kapag naayos na yung 80, lift na ang moratorium,” he said.

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He said the applications began to pile up after Labatt Jolly opened agency accreditation to more applicants in a bid to bring down employment agency charges.

“Para sa akin, pareho rin sa gusto ni Labatt na mas maraming agencies, sige lang. Ako naman OK din doon, dahl sa spirit of enterprise. The more the competitors, the lower the price. It will be for the benefit of the consumers,” Villafuerte said.

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There are now more than 400 Hong Kong agencies accredited by Polo, up from about 350 a year ago.

Villafuerte blamed the backlog on acute personnel shortage. Three former staff from the Department of Labor and Employment ended their tour of duty in February while the contracts of two local hires were not renewed. Labatt dela Torre’s departure has left six vacant slots to be filled.

The OIC said each one of the 15 staff left has been working on extended hours on weekdays, so they have no more time left to inspect the accreditation applicants after work. They can only do the inspections at the weekends, including Sundays when Polo is swamped with overseas Filipino workers asking for all sorts of service or assistance.

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FDHs push for $5,890 minimum wage in talks with Labour

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Migrant workers led by Eman Villanueva, Eni Lestari and Dolores Balladores-Pelaez face the media after their closed-door meeting to present their minimum wage proposal to Labour Department officials on Wednesday, Jul 24.

By Vir B. Lumicao

Migrant workers urged the Hong Kong government today, Jul 24, to raise their minimum wage to $5,890 a month, describing their current pay of $4,520 as slave wage. They also called for a $2,600 food allowance.

Leaders of migrant groups presented their wage proposal to Labour Department's Wage Review Board representatives currently consulting the public for inputs in their review of the minimum wage for the city’s 380,000 foreign domestic workers this year.

The Board usually announces its decision around September.

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But, emerging from an hour-long meeting at the Labour Department in Sheung Wan, the migrant leaders said they were disappointed because there was no transparency in the government’s calculation of their minimum wage.

“We believe this process is just a showcase. It is not honest, it is not sincere in the government that they want to listen to our voice,” said Eni Lestari, spokeswoman of the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body. “Again until now, after many, many years, we asked the government, how do you calculate the wages of the domestic workers. They never have a formula or calculation.”

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She said the government’s calculation is not transparent and, therefore, unfair to the domestic workers and even to employers, as they do not know the basis for the new minimum wage.

Eman Villanueva, an AMCB spokesman, said the migrant workers are pushing their campaign for Hong Kong to adopt the living wage standard calculated by Oxfam Hong Kong in a study presented to the International Labor Organization last December.

“We are asking for a $5,894 as the minimum wage for domestic workers. The main basis for this is the calculation made by Oxfam Hong Kong on the living wage standard in Hong Kong right now, which they say is about $54.70 per hour,” said Villanueva.

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He said the minimum wage of $4,520 a month is one of the lowest for migrant workers and raising it to the living wage level will improve Hong Kong's image as a city where modern-day slavery still exists.

Villanueva said the migrant workers also reiterated their demand for a $2,600 monthly food allowance based on government statistics that per capita food expenditure in Hong Kong is about $2,600 every month.

The current food allowance for helpers is just $1,075 a month, just about 40% of the actual per capita food expenditure, he said.

“We are also living in Hong Kong, we are also Hong Kong people and you know the standard for the food allowance should be based on the actual expenditure in Hong Kong which the government said is $2,600,” Villanueva said.

The Hong Kong Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions, whose representatives also attended the meeting, demanded a MAW of $5,800 and food allowance of $2,500.

FADWU also urged the government to include migrant domestic workers in the coverage of Hong Kong’s Minimum Wage Ordinance.

Villanueva said the workers also asked the Labour Department to consider listing in the employment contract toilets, kitchens, cupboards and hallways as unsuitable accommodation.

“I think the government’s definition of suitable accommodation is not so clear, so it is time for them to list it down for the items I mentioned,” he said.

Another concern the workers brought up was overcharging by employment agencies. The government representative just explained what Labour is doing as part of its action plan, Villanueva said.

“We reiterated that the problem of overcharging or illegal collection is still very rampant and widespread, so there seems to be a mismatch in what they are doing and it seems they are not effective because the problem is persisting anyway,” he said.

He said the migrant workers suggested more practical ways to solve the problem.

The meeting was also attended by Mission for Migrant Workers general manager Cynthia Abdon-Tellez, director Edwina Antonio and case officer Esther Bangcawayan.

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Employment agency loses licence for malpractice

Posted on 23 July 2019 No comments

Those stripped of their licences were found
to have violated this Code of Practice for agencies

By The SUN

An employment agency operating out of three offices across Hong Kong has had its licence revoked for multiple violations of the industry’s Code of Practice, according to a press release issued today, Jul 23, by the Hong Kong Labour Department.

The press statement identified the agency as Saint Happy Maids Agency, which has offices in Mong Kok, Yuen Long and Tsuen Wan.

Saint Happy Maids was found to have involved itself in the financial affairs of foreign domestic helpers, failed to draw up service agreements with employers, failed to include all required items in the service agreement with employers and helpers, and failed to provide receipts for payments made by employers.

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It was the third agency to be stripped of its license by LD’s Employment Agency Administration this year. The two others were Fardiansyah International Limited in Yaumatei and Perfect World Employment Services Co in Tai Po,

Last year, eight agencies lost their licence for non-compliance with the Code, including Unity Employment Limited, Happy J Employment Agency, Tin Wai Employment Company Limited, Good Family Employment Agency Company Limited, Galaxy Maid Employment Consultants Limited, and JK Company.

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Three agency operators were prosecuted, while at least 20 agencies were warned for various violations, including Saint Happy, which received a warning on Feb. 19.

The statement said the Employment Ordinance empowers the Commissioner for Labour to revoke the license of an EA if he is satisfied the licensee concerned or an individual employed by the licensee has not complied with the Code.

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“The Code sets out the salient legal requirements that EA operators must observe in operating their business, as well as the minimum standards which the commissioner expects from EAs,” an LD spokesman said.

The LD reminded all employment agency operators to comply with the law and the provisions of the Code at all times.

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Maid fined for taking cash, Octopus card from kid’s lost wallet

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Mislang found the kid's wallet on a game machine
inside Jumpin Gym in Aberdeen

By Vir B. Lumicao

For taking $240 and an Octopus card from a child’s wallet she found in a games arcade, a Filipina helper was fined $1,500 on Tuesday, Jul 23.

Esther Mislang, 55, was also ordered by Magistrate Lam Tsz Kan to give back the $240 she took from the wallet of the 5-year-old owner.

Mislang, who has been employed by the same employer for over 10 years, pleaded guilty to a charge of theft “by finding” when she appeared in court.

The prosecution said the wallet owner, a Kindergarten 3 girl, went with her father to a Jumpin’ Gym arcade in Aberdeen Centre, Aberdeen, on Jun 1 to play on some machines.

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After they had left the arcade around 8:30pm, the girl suddenly realized she forgot to pick up her Smiggle wallet that she placed on the seat of the arcade machine.

When the father and child returned to the arcade, the wallet was already gone.

The father asked the arcade manager to review the CCTV footage in the area of the machine and saw Mislang pick up the wallet, put it in her pocket and leave.

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The case was reported to the police and on Jun 3, the defendant was arrested, but she denied taking the wallet. Mislang said she only inspected it then threw it in a rubbish bin.

But in mitigation, Mislang’s lawyer said the helper did find the wallet, but dumped it after taking the cash and Octopus card inside. The lawyer also said the maid had used the Octopus card and was willing to pay back the cash she had taken.

He pleaded for leniency, saying the defendant was remorseful.

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Mislang reportedly arrived in Hong Kong in 1992 and has worked for her current employer for more than 10 years. Her employer supported her in her case.

Apart from imposing a $1,500 fine, the magistrate ordered the defendant to pay the wallet owner $240.