By Daisy CL Mandap
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| HK and Phl labour officials say employers should pay for the FDWs' quarantine expenses |
With up to 10,000 Filipino domestic helpers expected to
start trickling into Hong Kong in the next few
weeks, the question of who should pay for the workers’ quarantine expenses is
being raised more frequently now.
Just as often, it is reported that employers are hesitant to
admit their newly arrived domestic workers into their homes, even if they had
tested negative for Covid-19 on arrival at the airport.
This was confirmed by a group of employment agencies who
called on the Hong Kong government last Sunday
to provide a centralized quarantine facility for arriving foreign domestic
workers.
The agencies said that since most Hong
Kong homes are small, giving space to FDWs for home quarantine is
proving difficult for most employers.
Their appeal has not merited any response from the
government so far.
In the meantime, many Filipino domestic workers due to
return, or take up employment in
Hong Kong,
have resorted to appealing online for directions or help, on what they should expect
when they start their home quarantine.
But this shouldn’t be the case. When mandatory home
quarantine was imposed on all passengers arriving in Hong
Kong on Mar 19, the Labour Department immediately made it clear
that employers should open their homes
to their domestic helpers who need to self-quarantine for 14 days.
If the employers choose another place for the quarantine
such as a hotel, the LD
said they should
pay for the accommodation and provide the helper with a food allowance for her
meals during the entire 14-day stay.
The government press release said: “The employer is also
reminded to comply with his/her obligations under the SEC (standard employment
contract), including bearing the accommodation expenses of the FDH and
providing food allowance to the FDH.”
Earlier, on Mar 17, he Philippine Overseas Labor Office issued an
advisory to all employment agencies, saying the same thing: that employers
should ensure the well-being of their Filipino domestic workers who are on home
quarantine and provide for all their needs.
Agencies are further tasked to monitor the situation of
their recruits and update Polo “whenever necessary.”
Part of the advisory signed by Labor Attache Melchor Dizon
also read: “If the worker will be accommodated outside such as (a) hotel, all
expenses shall be borne by the employer (who) shall ensure the provision of
food.”
More importantly, Dizon directed that no worker shall be
terminated during the home quarantine period.
Despite the clear-cut guidelines, however, many FDWs still
complain of being told by their employers that they should pay for part, or all,
of the expenses of the home quarantine.
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| The tracking wristband that everyone under quarantine must wear |
Joyce S. said in an online message that she was in Manila, and had been told by her new employers to return
to Hong Kong as they will be flying in at the same time from Tokyo.
The employers, however, did not want her to spend her
quarantine at their home, and wanted her to stay in a hotel, and pay for all
the expenses.
Joyce asked for any advisories or statements from the Hong Kong government that makes it clear her employer must shoulder her quarantine expenses. Not having an employment agency to advise
her employers, she said she had to do the explaining herself.
Last she posted, however, her employers decided to stay on
in Japan until August, and
told her to remain in the Philippines
and enjoy her own vacation. She did nor respond when asked if she was paid her
salary while on vacation leave.
Another message came from Lyn A., who said she was one of the three FDWs who
reached out to a group because they were not provided food by their employers
in their quarantine facilities.
Lyn said her employer paid for her hotel in Yaumatei, and
told her to bring lots of noodles and biscuits. Little did she know that that
was what she was supposed to eat during her 14-day quarantine.
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| Food left by a concerned employer outside a helper's hotel room (from DWC Help) |
When word about her plight reached the group, Justice for
Migrant Workers, members took turns delivering food to her hotel. Her employer
visited once to bring a lunch box, and that was all.
But she said that when she asked for food allowance,
“luckily binigay nya.” (Luckily she gave it)
Told that she should have complained about being left to
fend for herself in the hotel room, she asked, “Kanino ako magrereklamo?” (Who should I complain to?)
She said she was grateful enough that she was asked by her
employer to return to Hong Kong.
“Pasalamat na lang ako
at pinabalik pa ako sa dami ng nate-terminate ngayon at nawawalan ng trabaho.”(I should be thankful that I was asked to return to Hong Kong, given that
so many are sacked, or lose their jobs nowadays).
But she did not reply when asked if she knew that she
should have been provided food, or realized that she could have starved if no one had stepped in to help her.
