Responsive Ad Slot

Latest

Sponsored

Features

Buhay Pinay

People

Sports

Business Ideas for OFWs

Join us at Facebook!

Demand for FDHs continues to rise in HK despite chaos

Posted on 22 November 2019 No comments
By Daisy CL Mandap
Image may contain: 2 people, crowd
Are employers leaving HK in droves and terminating their helpers?
Not so, according to data from Immigration 

Bucking fears and forecasts, the number of foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong has continued to rise, even during the most turbulent months of the anti-government protests.

Latest figures from the Immigration Department show that the demand for FDHs has kept its steady ascent, with the total figure by the end of October reaching 399,505. This is more than 14,000 higher than for the same month last year.

A negligible dip of 243 was recorded at the start of the pro-democracy protests between May and June this year, but this was quickly corrected when the number soared by 1,525 at the end of July, when the protests were at their most raucous.

Call us!

The next month, August, which saw protesters storming Prince Edward MTR station, registered an even higher month-on-month increase of 1,604.

At the end of September and October when the violence from the clashes between protesters and police intensified even more, the monthly spike hovered at around 1,500.

The numbers also show that Filipinos continue to dominate the domestic workers community, with a total population of 219,496 by end of October. Indonesians numbered 170,579 while Indians and all other nationalities had a total ally of just about 4,000 each group

Call us now!

The official figures come as a surprise to those who trawl OFW social media sites, as these are replete with comments from Filipino migrant workers who claim that they have lost their jobs because of the protests.

Many employment agency operators have also been reporting of Filipino applicants changing their minds about working in Hong Kong, or of having their recruits’ contracts terminated by employers who decided to move elsewhere to avoid the chaos.

A growing number of FDWs say they have been left on their own as their employers chose to go elsewhere to live, or of being told to take an early vacation while the employers assess whether they should return, or stay away for good.

Call now!

It now turns out all such reports, if true, have hardly dented the demand for FDWs in Hong Kong.

This is something that the Consulate has been at pains to say amid the din caused by calls to either slow down the processing of work contracts to Hong Kong, or to ban Filipino workers from coming here altogether.

The Consulate has consistently said that the number of contracts being submitted to them for processing has remained steady, and terminations have not occurred at a higher rate than before.

Thus, said Consul General Raly Tejada in a recent TV interview, there is no need to stop Filipino workers from coming to Hong Kong.

“I will dissuade people from encouraging this idea of banning workers from coming to Hong Kong,” he said. “There are jobs here in Hong Kong, and the employees are quite satisfied with their work and employers are still taking in Filipinos…so there is no reason for us to implement a ban.”


 Foreign Domestic Helpers (FDHs) Population in Hong Kong


As at the end of Month/Year
Philippines
Indonesia
India
Other nationalities
Total number for all nationalities
Jun 2018
206,917
162,257
4,337
4,804
378,315
Jul 2018
207,075
163,405
4,352
4,779
379,611
Aug 2018
208,820
163,370
4,433
4,770
381,393
Sep 2018
210,315
164,291
4,456
4,799
383,861
Oct 2018
210,773
165,077
4,483
4,808
385,141
Nov 2018
211,361
165,655
4,515
4,793
386,324
Dec 2018
210,897
165,907
4,502
4,769
386,075
Jan 2019
213,110
167,480
4,515
4,766
389,871
Feb 2019
214,018
167,623
4,570
4,758
390,969
Mar 2019
214,211
168,060
4,557
4,758
391,586
Apr 2019
214,358
168,377
4,564
4,737
392,036
May 2019
215,586
168,644
4,625
4,732
393,587
Jun 2019
216,052
167,937
4,621
4,734
393,344
Jul 2019
216,375
169,134
4,652
4,708
394,869
Aug 2019
217,961
169,079
4,709
4,724
396,473
Sep 2019
218,883
169,775
4,722
4,727
398,107
Oct 2019
219,496
170,579
4,737
4,693
399,505

up.

---
I-try mo ito, Kabayan: Kung interesado kang ma-contact ang mga advertiser namin dito, pindutin lang ang kanilang ad, at lalabas ang auto-dialer. Pindutin ulit upang tumawag. Hindi na kailangang pindutin ang mga numero.







Anak sa labas

Posted on 21 November 2019 No comments

Problemado ngayon si Noel dahil bigla siyang sinulatan sa messenger ng kanyang anak sa labas na hindi niya nakita ng halos dalawang dekada.

Nagtrabaho si Noel dati sa Hong Kong at nagkarelasyon sa isang Pinay na nauwi sa pagbubuntis nito. Kinilala naman ni Noel ang bata sa birth certificate nito pero hindi niya mapakasalan ang ina nito dahil may asawa’t mga anak siyang iniwan sa Pilipinas.

Call us!

Noong dalawang taon pa lang ang bata ay bigla siyang inilipat ng kanyang trabaho sa ibang bansa at naputol ang komunikasyon niya sa mag-ina. Ngayong malapit na siyang mag-retiro sa Pilipinas ay biglang bumalik ang nakaraan na minsan na niyang binaon sa limot.

Ang kanyang anak na 21 taong gulang na ay pilit humihingi ng pera dahil pinabayaan na daw ito ng ina magmula ng makapangasawa ng isang Amerikano.

Takot na takot naman si Noel dahil hindi alam ng kanyang mga anak ang tungkol sa kapatid nilang bunso na iba ang ina.

Call us now!

Dati na niyang sinabi sa kanyang asawa ang tungkol sa bata pero hindi na daw nila muling pinag-usapan dahil naputol na ang kanyang komunikasyon sa mag-ina.

Ngayon ay napilitan silang harapin muli ang katotohanan dahil malamang na masaktan ang kanilang mga anak sa ginawa nilang pagtatago.

Alam ni Noel na wala na siyang responsibilidad na sustentuhan ang anak dahil hindi na ito menor de edad.

Call now!

Gayunpaman, hindi pa rin niya maiwasan ang hindi mabahala dahil sa banta ng anak na sisiraan siya sa social media kapag hndi niya ito binigyan ng pera.

Isang kaibigan niya ang nag-imbestiga tungkol sa bata at nalamang hindi naman ito pinabayaan ng ina dahil nakapag-aral sa isang magandang eskuwela sa probinsiya at maganda ang kurso.

Baka daw gusto lang ng bata na magpapansin, lalo na at ang ina na dating kasa-kasama ay may asawa na. Sinabihan din nito ang nalilitong si Noel na panindigan na ang anak dahil malaki na rin ang utang niya dito. — DCLM
---
I-try mo ito, Kabayan: Kung interesado kang ma-contact ang mga advertiser namin dito, pindutin lang ang kanilang ad, at lalabas ang auto-dialer. Pindutin ulit upang tumawag. Hindi na kailangang pindutin ang mga numero.

Ayaw na sa utang

Posted on No comments

Isa si Teresa na taga Tuen Mun sa mahigit 1,000 Pilipina na napilitang mangutang at magsanla ng pasaporte sa kumpanyang OFC dahil nagipit.

Wala daw siyang malapitan noon kaya naglakas loob siyang nangutang sa kanyang amo nguni’t hindi siya pinagbigyan.

Napilitang lumapit si Teresa sa OFC sa halagang $2,000 lang dahil kailangang kailangan daw mapagamot ang kanyang ina na maysakit.
Call us!


Sa kasamaang palad binawian din ng buhay ang kanyang ina pagkalipas lang ng isang linggo.

Bumalik si Teresa sa OFC para bawiin ang kanyang pasaporte pero nadatnan niya ang opisina na magulo dahil ni-raid pala ng mga pulis.

Agad siyang humingi ng tulong sa Konsulado para mabawi ang kanyang pasaporte pero wala pa daw sa kanila.

Sunod na pinuntahan niya ang Wanchai Police Station, at dahil kasama niya ang kanyang amo ay naibalik sa kanya ang kanyang pasaporte.

Call us now!

Laking pasasalamat ni Teresa sa amo na hindi siya pinagalitan dahil sa nangyari sa kanyang ina. Bagkus, binigyan pa siya ng abuloy.

Pagbalik niya sa Hong Kong pagkatapos mailibing ang kanyang ina ay kusa niyang ibinigay sa amo ang kanyang pasaporte para hindi na siya muling matukso na mangutang.

Ipinaalala naman ng kanyang amo na kung kailangan niya ng tulong para sa kanyang pamilya ay magsabi lang siya, pero dapat ay hindi siya magsinungaling.

Laking pasasalamat ni Teresa sa amo na kahit dalawang taon pa lang siya sa kanila ay nagpakita na ng tunay na malasakit.

Call now!

Bilang ganti sa kabaitan nito ay ginawa lahat ni Teresa ang nararapat, katulad ng pagpunta sa Konsulado para aminin ang kanyang ginawang mali na nagsanla ng pasaporte para sa utang.

oble kayod ngayon si Teresa para makabawi sa mabait na amo, at para hindi na siya mangutang muli.

Si Teresa ay 45 taong gulang, may asawa at dalawang anak. Dahil panganay siya sa kanilang tatlong magkakapatid ay siya ang inasahan ng kanilang ina na magpaaral sa kanyang bunsong kapatid, at tinupad naman niya. - Rodelia Villar
---
I-try mo ito, Kabayan: Kung interesado kang ma-contact ang mga advertiser namin dito, pindutin lang ang kanilang ad, at lalabas ang auto-dialer. Pindutin ulit upang tumawag. Hindi na kailangang pindutin ang mga numero.








Filipino accused of running off with thousands of dollars from job seekers, employers

Posted on 20 November 2019 No comments
By Daisy CL Mandap

A  photo of Nicdao posted online by one of the complainants 
A Filipino claiming to be a driver in Hong Kong has been accused of fleecing domestic workers and employers alike of tens of thousands of dollars in the guise of helping them process employment contracts for less pay.

The complainants have named the alleged scammer as Alejandro "Alan" Sayao Nicdao in complaints they have filed with the Philippine Consulate, Employment Agencies Administration, and the police.

Ann, who gathered about 10 of the complainants, said they have already been interviewed by officers of the assistance to nationals section of the Consulate and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office. They have also been asked to attend interviews at EAA later this month and early December.

Call us!

As the alleged victims are said to come from different places, she said the police complaints were filed in different police stations.

The money they lost to Nicdao reportedly range between $2,000 and $30,000. The biggest amount he allegedly skimmed came from a terminated Filipina worker whom he convinced to borrow money from a financing company. Nicdao reportedly gave the Filipina only $1,000 before disappearing.

Ann herself claims to have deposited into a bank account Nicdao was using a total of $9,400 (Php65,000)  sent to her by three friends in the Philippines, after he promised them jobs as domestic workers in Hong Kong.

CALL OUR HOTLINE!

She later found out that the bank account belonged to a Filipina who was helped by Nicdao to get into China. She reportedly left her ATM card with Nicdao so she could send money to him to pay for her illicit deployment.

Ann says she met the other complainants online after she posted warnings about Nicdao on various sites on Facebook.

Ann says she first met Nicdao when they joined the same tour to China in January this year. He allegedly offered to help find an employer for her friend Merlyn who had just lost her job.

Call now!

Nicdao reportedly didn’t ask for a lot of money, but managed to get Merlyn a job. That was what convinced her of his sincerity and ability.

“Inabot ng hanggang six months bago siya nakabalik, pero nagawa naman ni Alan ang pangako niya,” Ann says.

Her three other friends from the Philippines who were enticed to apply for jobs through Nicdao were reportedly impressed with him because he referred them to Studio 85, a licensed recruitment agency in the Philippines, where they signed employment contracts. The agency also arranged for their medical examinations.

After collecting the employment contracts back from the applicants and getting their payments, Nicdao allegedly said he would pass them on a Hong Kong-based agency in Yuen Long, and that they should expect to be deployed by Aug. 16.

They never heard from him again.

Ann said that when she started hunting down Nicdao, those who used to hang out with him near the Star Ferry Terminal told her they had heard of similar capers he pulled off on other people.

They reportedly offered copies of his passport and driver’s license in the Philippines, which showed he was 60 years old and lived in Makati City.

Ann says Nicdao told him he was working as a driver in Hong Kong, and sold goods from China on the side. But on hindsight, she said she never saw the guy behind the wheel, or knew exactly where he worked and lived.

ALA Villafuerte is looking into the case vs Nicdao
She is still awaiting confirmation from Acting Labor Attache Antonio Villafuerte if Nicdao has indeed worked as a domestic helper with driving duties in Hong Kong.

From what the other complainants told her, Ann says it appears Nicdao victimized people not just in Hong Kong but also in Macau and the Philippines. And they were not all Filipino domestic workers, but also employers.

Ann says one of his first apparent victims was his own girlfriend who came as a tourist in 2014 and after finding an employer, paid him $2,000 to process her employment contract. Her would-be employer was also charged $6,500 for the job placement that never materialized.

Another employer who reportedly reached out to Ann is an Indian national called Dita who says Nicdao disappeared after charging her a down payment of $2,500 to process her helper’s contract.

Ann says all of the complainants have recorded chats with Nicdao in which he promised to help them process job contracts or asked outright for money. They have also kept receipts of the money transfer they made into the bank account Nicdao was using.
---
I-try mo ito, Kabayan: Kung interesado kang ma-contact ang mga advertiser namin dito, pindutin lang ang kanilang ad, at lalabas ang auto-dialer. Pindutin ulit upang tumawag. Hindi na kailangang pindutin ang mga numero.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)
Don't Miss