Labour Dept to restart limited counter services from tomorrow

By The SUN

Labour Dept's counters will open only every Monday, Wednesday and Friday initially

The Labour Department has announced that it will resume all counter services three times a week from tomorrow, Aug. 24.

All service counters of LD will open every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, in line with the government’s announcement to start resuming public services in a safe and orderly manner.

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But as a safety precaution, members of the public entering LD’s offices and clinics will have to undergo temperature checks and wear face masks at all times. Crowd control measures will also be implemented.

However, the public is still encouraged to continue making use of the department’s online services and information through its website: www.labour.gov.hk. Enquiries and requests for service should be sent through email at enquiry@labour.gov.hk as far as possible.

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Meanwhile, the Immigration Department will also reopen some of its services, in line with the government's directive. The types of services that will become available from tomorrow can be seen through this link: https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/press/press-releases/20200821.html

The LD will continue to implement targeted measures as it gradually resumes public services, including adopting a roster system and introducing flexible working hours for its staff.

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In this regard, the department appeals for public understanding as the waiting time for public services may be lengthened, or a longer time may be needed for the processing of enquiries and applications.

Among those set to reopen are the Kwun Tong Occupational Health Clinic which will be open for the whole day on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, as well as Saturday morning. 

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The Fanling Occupational Health Clinic will open for the whole day on Tuesday and Thursday, and in the morning on Saturday.

Job seekers can use the Interactive Employment Service Website (www.jobs.gov.hk) for job search purposes. The LD's Telephone Employment Service Centre, all Job Centres and industry-based Recruitment Centres also provide enquiry and employment services by telephone (telephone numbers are shown at www.jobs.gov.hk/1/0/WebForm/information/en/our_service/info_jobcentres.aspx) during office hours from Monday to Friday (9am to 1pm and 2pm to 5.30pm).
 

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Applicants for issue of licence or renewal of licence of employment agency may submit their applications to the office of the Employment Agencies Administration by post (Unit 906, 9/F, One Mong Kok Road Commercial Centre, 1 Mong Kok Road, Kowloon) or email (ea-ee@labour.gov.hk).
 

For information about employment rights and benefits, members of the public may browse the LD's website at www.labour.gov.hk/eng/faq/content.htm.

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Filipina seeks police help after being tagged in spit-in-milk case

By Daisy CL Mandap

The disturbing video as shared online and on Coconuts Hong Kong page

A Filipina domestic helper has sought police help after she was wrongly identified as the woman shown on a viral video spitting into a baby’s bottle while preparing milk formula.

According to various news reports in Hong Kong on Friday, Aug 21, the woman was an Indonesian domestic helper who had since been fired by her employer.

Inexplicably, Filipina domestic worker Joy Garano was identified in various group chats of Indonesian FDHs as the one who was in the video. 

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At least two Indonesian workers also shared a photo of Garano, along with a screen-grab of her  biodata filed with Bandung employment agency.

To make matters worse, a Filipina domestic worker using the Facebook name Kurdpaya Lakwatsera picked up this false information along with Garano’s personal details, and re-posted it all on her own wall, saying it was because she wanted to be fair to her Indonesian counterparts.

The news traveled fast, and Garano reacted with her own Facebook post on the same day, saying: “Para malinawan lahat, hindi po ako ang nasa video. Sa nagkalat ng fake news, maghintay lang po kayo.” (So everyone will know, I am not the one in the video. To the one spreading the fake news, just you wait).

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Later, in a chat with administrators of an online group who relayed their concern, Garano said she had just gone to the police to file a report, and asked for help in rebutting  the allegation against her.

“Hindi po ako yan, ate, 4 years old alaga ko. Salamat po sa concern, nagpunta na po akong police kanina…paki-spread po iyan na hindi po ako, salamat po,” she said.

(I am not the one, sister, my ward is four years old. Thanks for the concern, I have been to this police earlier today. Please spread the word that I am not that one, thank you).

She no longer responded to queries on messenger afterwards.

Bandung agency also denied the woman in the video was their applicant whose biodata was shared online 

A separate post by Bandung employment agency said: “FYI lang po. Hindi po totoo na ang nagkalat na bio data na galing sa Bandung ay ang nasa video. Ang nasa bio data at ang nasa video ay hindi po iisang tao! Nakausap na po naming ang FDH na nasa aming bio data at tinulungan na namin para ma clear ang pangalan niya. Sana hindi na natin i-share ang bio data niya at hindi na idiin na siya ang nasa video kasi hindi po siya iyon. Maraming salamat!” (FYI. It’s not true that the person in the biodata from Bandung is the same one in the video. They’re two different persons. We have spoken with the FDH in the biodata and helped her clear her name. We hope you would stop sharing her biodata and not insist that she was the one in the video because that’s not her. Thank you).

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It was not made clear, however, how Garano’s private information sheet supposedly filed away in the agency’s office was leaked.

In the video reposted by online news site Coconuts Hong Kong on Friday, a woman is seen scooping milk powder into a baby bottle, then spitting a gob of saliva into it before taking it away.

The report said: “According to a caption that accompanied the video, the woman is an Indonesian domestic worker who has since been let go by her employer.”

The same version appears to have been reported in Chinese newspapers and TV reports, as well as in various online chat groups where the members are mostly locals, like “Saikung Wall” and “Must know news for employers of domestic workers.”

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The Coconuts report quoted an interview by local media organization HK01 with the chairman of the Hong Kong Employment Agencies Association chairman Cheung Kit-man who said that the video was not all it seemed.

“There are issues on both (the employer and helper’s) sides, this is not a one-sided situation,” Cheung reportedly said.

While many netizens argued that the Indonesian maid may have a valid grudge against her employer, taking it out on an innocent baby was wrong.

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It was equally wrong to falsely accuse someone of being behind the disgraceful conduct.

One Indonesian who goes by the name Joy Skylight Quiee posted in her own language (roughly translated into English): “In the viral news that’s going around, an Indonesian was again blamed. Why are we being targeted? Employers should open their eyes. This is a Filipino with her complete biodata…not from Indonesia. Our faces may look similar, but that should not give anyone reason to always accuse Indonesian people. She is from the Philippines.”

Not a few netizens were more outraged that a fellow Filipina had quickly picked up the defamatory information, and even embellished on it.

Said Kurdpaya in her post: “Just want to make it clear para din unfair sa mga Indonisian (sic). Eto yung babaing nagdura sa milk bottle habang nagtitimpla. Yan name (indicating the attached biodata of Garano) pero Filipina pala, hindi Indonesia.”

After saying she managed to get the woman’s name after doing some stalking, she added: “Na virus na ata isip ni ate,” she said.

Kurdpaya, whose face is clearly shown in her profile photo, then went on to advise her fellow FDHs to love their wards and not spit into their milk, then added: “kagigil.” (So annoying!)

The post has since been deleted, but not after several OFWs had passed it around.

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Stay at home to help make universal testing work, health official says

By The SUN

Dr Chuang says people should stay at home to help the universal testing work

Hong Kong health officials reported 26 new Covid-19 cases today, Aug 22, in what appears to be a continuing downward trend for the spread of the coronavirus in the city.

But Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection again warned the outbreak has yet to be brought under control, so people should continue to be cautious.

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“The overall trend has been slowly decreasing, but I think it’s a bit static in the recent few days. We still have quite a number of unknown cases in the community,” Chuang said at today’s daily briefing.

She again advised residents to stay at home as much as possible and avoid gathering with people outside of their immediate family, especially if they recently submitted tests.

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This is to help ensure the success of the universal testing which is due to start on Sept 1, which  is meant to flush out asymptomatic carriers who could be behind the so-called invisible transmissions in the community.

Her call came as the city notched the 20th day since its daily Covid-19 tally fell below 100. The total number of infections rose to 4,657, while the death toll went up to 76 after an 82-year-old female patient succumbed to the disease in Prince of Wales this afternoon.

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All but two of the new cases were local transmissions, with seven of them of unknown source.

The two babies among today's cases flew in on Aug 14 aboard a virus-plagued Air India flight  

The two imported cases were both babies who were on board the Air India flight 314 which arrived in Hong Kong on Aug 14. They brought to 19 the total number of infections from that flight, which prompted Hong Kong authorities to impose a two-week ban on the airline.

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Two other cases were detected from the targeted testing conducted on workers at the Kwai Chung container terminal. One of the patients is a shipping clerk, and the other, a crane operator. Neither is connected to Wang Kee company, where more than 50 cases have been linked.

Among the cases with unknown source is a taxi driver.

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Dr Lau Ka-hin of the Hospital Authority said only 556 confirmed patients are still in 19 public hospitals and at the treatment facility at AsiaWorld-Expo. Of these, 29 are in critical condition, 37 are serious and 490 are stable.

The two doctors reiterated the call of government officials to take part in the universal testing which is due to take place on Sept 1-7, saying this is the best way to keep the infection under control.

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Ex-HK maid clicks as teacher with unique aid-raising tack for students

By Vir B. Lumicao

Manlangit (left, in pink) with her fellow teachers facing new challenges because of the pandemic

A public high school teacher in Camarines Sur who used to be a domestic helper in Hong Kong has been making waves with her use of social media to mobilize netizen support for a lofty project.

Through sheer resourcefulness which many Hong Kong-based OFWs have honed during years of living by their wit, Grace Shiela P. Manlangit used Facebook to tap her online friends to enable her school to start printing self-learning modules for students.

The modules are packaged lessons in various subjects for the school year that every school has to print and deliver to students before the classes open. Manlangit says she and other teachers in her school need to produce some 200-page modules for about 800 students.

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How to start printing the modules was a big question mark for the teachers of Tinawagan High School at the foot of Mount Isarog in Tigaon town, some 50 kilometers away from Naga City and about 430km south of Manila.

Manlangit led her co-teachers in launching on Facebook a crowd-funding with a twist, less than three weeks away from the originally scheduled opening of classes on Aug 24. It was a panic decision as there was no word about budget for the printing from the Department of Education.

On Aug 6, she posted an online appeal that read: “Ang magreact dito ay isang bayani. Tutal, napapanahon naman po ito, try ko rin po ito. Minsan lang po ito. Badly needed po ang reactions ninyo! Para po sa mga bata ito ng aming eskwelahan. Salamat po in advance!”

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The appeal’s principle is react and give, which Manlangit spelt out as: one “like” from the reader means he/she will donate one ream of A4 printing paper; one “heart” means 2 reams; one “laugh” equals 2 Epson ink cartridges of any color; one “wow” equals a bottle of hand sanitizer, face masks and face shield, etc., and a “share” means a printer donation.

“Seryoso po ito. Kailangan lang po. Ang inyo pong donasyon ay mapapakinabangan ng mga mag-aaral ng Tinawagan National High School,” Manlangit said.

By Aug 9, a friend had donated an Epson printer. Many other friends of the English teacher from various places including Hong Kong donated cash to buy reams of printing paper, alcohol, sanitizers, masks and face shields. Only printing ink was lacking by then.

Bounty from Manlangit's online fund-raising scheme for modular teaching 

Manlangit, a member of the National Organization of Professional Teachers  Hong Kong who in October 2016 went home for good to teach in her province, said she was overwhelmed by the response. On Aug 21, a friend sent her some more stuff.

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“It rocks that I have such a supportive family and friends. Your kindness is immensely appreciated. God bless you all!” she exclaimed in a post with a photo of the printer and boxes of A4 paper.

She admitted she was ashamed to raise the flag for donations but said she had to overcome her shyness for the sake of the students. The DepEd bans soliciting from parents, she said. “Nahihiya man ako, kinapalan ko na ang mukha ko,” she said.

Manlangit said there would be no face to face instruction as long as the coronavirus crisis is not over, so, modular learning intuition would be used for this school year.

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She was elated at the moving of the school opening to Oct 5. She said it’s just right because she and her co-teachers have yet to complete printing their modules.

The Tinawagan High School principal explained in a video DepEd’s social distancing modality in delivering education to the students.

First of these is the self-learning module, which entails packing the lessons for all subjects into seven modules.

Each module will be good for one week’s learning, the principal said. He explained that a quarter’s lessons are contained in each module. The modules will be distributed to the students, who will return them at the end of week to designated collections points.

Another modality is online instruction where a teacher imparts his lessons to his students via the internet using the same printed modules.

 

Some of the happy recipients of the online donation from Manlangit's family and friends

A teacher like Manlangit who loves her profession doesn’t mind the demands of her job.  

Her daily routine starts when she wakes up at 3:30am to prepare breakfast and the lunch boxes of her two sons. By 5am, she walks to the tricycle stand for a ride to the central transport terminal in Naga City where she takes a bus to Tigaon, traveling over an hour.

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In Tigaon, she shifts to a “habal-habal,” or tandem-riding on a motorcycle, to Tinawagan, the location of her school. Arriving there at 6:30am, Manlangit prepares for her first class at 7:10 am. Then she has four more classes to handle before dismissal at 4:30pm.

“That’s the time for me to relax and sleep on the bus,” she said. “Home sweet home.”

Nearly 4 years on as a fulltime English teacher handling Grade 8 to Second Year classes, Manlangit says she considers student discipline as her biggest challenge. But she has managed to handle them with tact.

In spite of the early difficulties she faced,such as dealing with different student or teacher personalities, she has fallen in love with teaching that she vows not to trade it for another stint as an OFW. Besides, she doesn’t want to leave her two sons again.

For Manlangit, going back home is the best decision she has ever made in life.

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CE urges mass participation in universal testing, unveils plans to secure vaccine

By Daisy CL Mandap

The CE and her ministers at today's press briefing said they will be the first to volunteer for the universal testing

Chief Executive Carrie Lam has sent out a strong appeal to people in Hong Kong to take part in the one-off voluntary testing for Covid-19 which will start on Sept. 1, and set to last for a week.

In a press conference this afternoon, Aug 21, with six of her top officials, Mrs Lam also unveiled Hong Kong’s participation in a global alliance called COVAX that is pooling funds to develop a Covid-19 vaccine, and distribute it equitably among nations.

As only 20% of the population of each place is assured of getting the vaccine, Hong Kong has contacted vaccine manufacturers all over the world separately, in the hope of procuring an antidote as soon as possible. 

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It has also appealed to the central government in the mainland for help, in case a vaccine is developed there first.

The media briefing was held shortly before the Centre for Health Protection reported 27 new infections on Friday, seven of them from unknown sources.

There were eight imported cases, six of them returnees from India, one each from the United States and Canada, and a cabin crew from Russia.

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Among the 18 local infections, one was a resident at a care home in Kwai Chung. A resident in another elderly home in Tai Kok Tsui also tested preliminary positive.

As a safety precaution, about 130 elderly residents and staff at the two facilities will be evacuated and sent to quarantine centers.

While noting the decline in the number of new cases since the record high numbers posted in the second half of last month, CE Lam still urged caution.

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“Next week will be crucial, we will see if the downward trend will persist, or we will see a rebound,” she said.

She noted that the infection remains severe in Hong Kong. Starting from Jul 7, she said the number of cases rose from about 1,300 to more than 4,600.

Even more worrying, she said, is that 30-40% of the new cases have unknown sources. “The invisible transmission chains in the community is a cause for concern” the CE said.

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That’s the reason all Hong Kong residents should take part in the universal testing exercise due to start in 11 days. “Everyone must do more to cut the chain of transmission,” she said.

The Civil Service Bureau, with its personnel numbering more than 180,000 will lead the exercise.

Civil Service Secretary Patrick Nip said the testing will be done at 150 community testing centers spread out across the city from 8am to 8pm, with one hour of disinfection in between. It will last from Sept 1-7, and could be extended for another week, depending on the need.

All residents, including migrant workers, could take part, except those with symptoms, nose and throat diseases, and children under six years old.

Throat and nose swabs will be taken from each resident who volunteers for the testing

Registration online will start on Aug 29, and will continue round-the-clock. Residents will have to register with their name, ID number and mobile phone number. A mixture of nose and throat swab tests will be conducted.

If the result is negative, the report will be sent via text message. If it’s positive, the patient will be notified by the Department of Health, and sent to a hospital for isolation and treatment.

Everyone is assured of privacy, as the medical personnel administering the test will only be given a bottle with a barcode that hides the person’s identity, which is known only to the DH.

Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan says she hopes at least 5 million people would take part in the exercise.

“The more tests we do to identify more cases, the less we have to worry about,” she said.

But Lam was quick to say there government was not targeting a specific percentage of Hong Kong’s 7.5 million population, hinting this could again be used to criticize the government.

“I hope the media can be objective and positive to report on this, and to encourage the public to participate.”

If the situation continues to improve, she said the government might loosen some restrictions, such as the ban on dine-in at restaurants after 6pm, and the reopening of some business establishments.

Lam repeatedly thanked the central government in Beijing for its help in providing universal testing for Hong Kong people, and expanding the capacity of the treatment facilities at AsiaWorld-Expo and the soon-to-be built hospital next to it.

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Terminated FDHs may be asked to leave HK soon, labour chief says

By Daisy CL Mandap

 

Law says HK has been trying to limit the number of FDHs entering HK since the coronavirus outbreak

Hong Kong’s Secretary for Labour, Law Chi-kwong has said that as part of efforts to decongest boarding houses run by employment agencies, foreign domestic helpers who were terminated under “suspicious circumstances” will no longer be granted visa extension, and told to leave at once.

Law said this at the press conference held this afternoon, Aug 21,  by Chief Executive Carrie Lam, along with six of her top officials.

“In the next few days, the Immigration Department will clear the backlog of applications as we want to reduce the length of stay in boarding facilities to just a few days,” said Law.

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For those who finished their contracts and are moving to a new employer, the processing time will be cut from the current 4-6 weeks to just between a week to two weeks, he said.

“For applicants with terminated contracts the Immigration Department will ask the reason for the termination…and in suspicious cases, they will be asked to leave Hong Kong at once.”

Currently, thousands of FDHs whose contracts have been terminated have been allowed to stay because of limited flights, or the strict travel restrictions imposed in their home countries which make it almost impossible for them to go back.

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In many cases, the FDHs with terminated contracts have also been allowed to process new contracts here and start working for their new employers, especially in exceptional cases, where the cause of termination was relocation or financial in nature.

FDHs with terminated contracts may be told to leave if they cannot justify their continued stay in HK

The labour chief said the Immigration Department has undertaken to speed up the processing of visa applications of FDHs in the wake of a cluster of infections found among Indonesian domestic workers staying in various agency-run dormitories.

As of the latest report from the Centre for Health Protection, 17 Indonesian maids who stayed in seven different agency shelters or boarding houses, have tested positive for Covid-19.

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But Law noted that the rate of infection among FDHs was far lower than among the city’s general population, which he attributed to their high mobility.

Of the 1,800 specimen samples from FDHs who stay in agency-run shelters, only one tested positive, for a .008 positivity rate. Targeted tests done on other sectors in the community yielded a .01% positive result.

CE Lam, however, added a note of caution, saying more test results from the agency shelters and staff in the Kwai Tsing container port, where an even bigger cluster of about 70 infections have been found, will be reported early next week.

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Law said that as part of the effort to contain the spread of the virus, employment agencies will be offered a one-off free test for their recruits who are about move in with new employers.

The new moves are said to be in line with the government’s policy imposed since March, of reducing the number of FDHs arriving in the city, and allowing those whose contracts have expired to remain if they have trouble exiting to their home countries.

Before the coronavirus outbreak, he said there was on average 580 FDHs arriving in the city each day. After the policy shift, the number was reduced to about 100 arrivals per day.

But since the negative test result for Covid-19 was made a precondition for them flying out to Hong Kong starting on Jul 25, the number has dwindled to just about 30 daily.

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