The SUN HK

Statistics supplied by the Consulate this week showed the deaths averaged 7.58 a month last year as against 5.42 in 2019. Officials say the figures do not include deaths of Filipino residents of Hong Kong that were not reported to the Consulate.

Details on the causes of deaths were not available from the data shared by the Consulate’s assistance to nationals section, which liaises with relatives of the dead as well as police, hospitals, and Hong Kong funeral homes that would handle the repatriations.

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Cancer in all its forms, grouped as malignant neoplasms, has consistently been the No.1 killer in Hong Kong over the last 40 years, with a total of 14,871 patients dying of the disease in 2019, records of the Department of Health Centre for Health Protection show.

While pneumonia was the secondary killer in Hong Kong, it was not so with the 207,000-strong Filipino community, where the second leading cause of death was stroke.

Mystery still surrounds the death of Onera in September last year

Consulate records of reported death cases last year showed four Filipinos dying in January, compared with two deaths in the same month a year earlier.

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The toll jumped in February with seven deaths reported, including two suicides. One involved a domestic helper who hanged herself in Yuen Long on Feb 11 due reportedly to love problems. A male resident took the same path in Sheung Wan 12 days later.

The number eased to four in March but rose to five in April and doubled to 10 in May. After dropping to seven in June, the figure reached nine in July and 10 in August, then stayed high at 12 in September and October before falling to eight in November and plunging to three in December, the lowest for the year.

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In previous years, the Consulate and its attached agencies, the Philippine Overseas Labor Office and OWWA, actively promoted health-care awareness among OFWs, especially during the winter, when they are most vulnerable to illness and depression.

The activities were evidently in response to events that directly affected the physical and mental health of workers that could lead to extremes.

The PCG hosted or organized seminars and forums where experts were invited to educate, listen and advice the workers on various issues that ranged from basic financial planning such as saving, investment and debt avoidance as well as crucial issues such as affairs of the heart and home.

Free check-ups and temperature and blood pressure taking were also conducted at the POLO for workers five days a week.

But anti-covid-19 measures implemented by the Hong Kong government since late January last year, such as social distancing, has restricted or halted such activities.

No. of Filipino deaths reported to PCG
Month	2019	2020
January	2	4
February	5	7
March	4	4
April	10	5
May	5	10
June	2	7
July	6	9
August	8	10
September	7	12
October	3	12
November	7	8
December	6	3
TOTAL	65	91
Monthly avg	5.42	7.58
Increase y-o-y (%)		40
Source: PCG Hong Kong

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Polo HK to start conciliation of training fee claims this Sunday

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By Daisy CL Mandap

Palma (left), and Pelaez brave the cold to meet up with claimants in an Admiralty park

The first group of Filipino domestic workers seeking reimbursement of the training fee collected by their recruitment agencies in the Philippines has been summoned to a conciliation meeting with their respective Hong Kong agencies this Sunday, Jan 10.

Most of those who received the text message from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office were among about 30 FDWs who filed a refund claim on Nov 22, the first group to do so.

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They took action after Labor Attache Melchor Dizon told a group of Filipino community leaders during a meeting that recruitment agencies could not compel the overseas Filipino workers they deploy to undergo training.

That statement entitled practically all OFWs leaving the Philippines to claim back money they paid their agencies, which did not just require their recruits to undergo training, but also chose where they should go for it.

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The notification to the claimants mostly said they should go to Polo at 11:30am for the conciliation before either of the two assistant labor attaches, Angelica Sunga or Antonio Villafuerte.

Marites Palma, head of Social Justice for Migrant Workers and co-convenor of the Rise Against Government Exactions (Rage), says a total of 286 FDWs have filed refund claims against their agencies in the past seven Sundays.

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She says the claims filed so far are for agency charges that range between Php30,000 to Php45,000.

Many more have expressed an intention to ask for a refund of the fees they paid their agencies, not just for training, but for other unauthorized fees, such as for video recording, and a second or third medical examination.

However, some are disheartened because they do no have receipts to back up their claim. Palma and her fellow leaders who make up Rage have told them not to worry about this because it’s understandable that the agencies would not want to issue a receipt, knowing the charge is illegal.

If the workers have other proof of their payment, such as a text message from the agency, or photos, or corroborating statement by a fellow applicant, all these could be used to show how much money was collected from them.

A volunteer helps a fellow OFW fill out the claim form

But the claim has a time bar. According to Labatt Dizon, citing POEA Rules, only fees paid no later than three years ago can be claimed back through conciliation. He also said Polo needs at least a month to process the application, meaning that as of now, only those paid from February 2018 onwards could be claimed.

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During the meeting with Filcom leaders in November, Dizon said the POEA Guidelines merely require OFWs to secure the NCII (national certificate of competency) from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda).

They may opt to go for training if they want to have a better chance of passing the skills assessment, but they should decide on this on their own.

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An employer who requires the worker to undergo training before coming to Hong Kong should pay for it, said Dizon.

He also said that in line with the POEA Guidelines, everyone who has a valid NCII should not be required to undergo training and assessment all over again.

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Among those who were charged this illicit fee are two claimants who both worked in the Middle East previously. Jean Enceso who was charged Php35,000, worked in Saudi Arabia before coming to Hong Kong. Cherry Anne Zerrudo worked in Qatar for three years, but was still made to pay Php37,000 for training.

Palma and fellow Rage leader Dolores Balladares-Pelaez have been meeting claimants in a park near United Centre building where Polo is located, to brief them claimants on the filing process, and why they should assert their right to claim back the illegal fee that was charged them.

Another such meet-up is scheduled this coming Sunday at Harcourt Garden. Those who wish to get more information should check out the FB page, "Training Fee Refund - Hong Kong."

This is not the first time that OFWs in Hong Kong have filed agency fee refund claims, and not a few said they managed to get back at least part of the illicit fee collected from them.

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The latest rash of claims happened in November 2016, after former POEA Administrator Hans Cacdac said during a visit to Hong Kong that the training fee collected from each OFW should be no more than Php20,000.

But in this case, the statements of claim submitted by about 20 workers were all sent to POEA for action, as they were supposedly all directed against agencies based in the Philippines.

This time around, Dizon said the claims would be forwarded to POEA only if the worker and the counterpart agency in Hong Kong fail to reach agreement.

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FDW job losses spiked in Dec, govt figures show

Posted on 07 January 2021 No comments

By Vir B. Lumicao

Bangcawayan says many workers have asked the Mission's help in computing claims

The two-month rebound in the number of foreign domestic workers finding jobs in Hong Kong ended last month, figures from the Immigration Department show.

By end of December, a total of 1,275 Filipino domestic workers became jobless, reversing an upward trend that started in the August to September period, when a record 2,372 new jobs were created.

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Esther Bangcawayan, a case officer at Mission for Migrant Workers, said that the increase in job losses has been evident in the number of workers seeking their help in calculating claims from their employers.

Many cases involved job terminations by either side, often due to concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Fear of acquiring Covid-19 while in Hong Kong was reportedly cited by most workers as the reason why they decided to terminate their contracts. The workers were driven by concern over their health, and for those aged 50 and above, by the decision to return home for good.

Employers, on the other hand, often cut short their contracts with their helpers due to job loss, work relocation or, for expatriates, the desire to return to their home countries.

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Bangcawayan said the Mission noted the trend starting towards the last quarter of 2020. Those who sought help in computing their entitlements were a mix of terminated, separated or finished-contract workers.

Some of them were returning home, others were preparing to exit, while there were also those who switched employers two or three times during the usual contract period of two years.

On the part of the employers, some dismissed their workers because of financial constraints, often without a warning. She cited the case of a helper who was abruptly told on Jan.5 by her employer of three years and 11 months that she needed to find a new job.

“Look for a new employer if you want to continue working in Hong Kong because my husband and I will be going back to China and he will be working there,” the helper was reportedly told.

Bangcawayan said the employer lost his job and his wife, a teacher, had been doing work from home since June due to the pandemic, but appeared to have become jobless as well.

Michel's last termination came without warning after just 2 weeks

Among those who were terminated was Michel T. Agustin, 40, a mother of four from Solana, Cagayan. In one year and five months she had had three employers, the latest one for just two weeks, before she got fired in November.

She said her first employer was a sickly 75-year-old bachelor in Wanchai who fell ill and became bedridden. The children took him to a hospital and after that, they decided to put him up in a nursing home. Her contract was terminated after five months.

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Agustin found a new employer in Kowloon, a local family with three teenage children. She had worked there for just 7 months when the female employer told her one day that she was being terminated without any reason.

“The employer told me she just wanted to let me go and gave me one month to find a new employer,” she said.

She found a third employer, a Mandarin-speaking woman who fired her after just two weeks due to supposedly unsatisfactory performance. She did not give her a release letter but paid a month’s salary in lieu of notice.

On the flipside is Arlyn E. Macadenden, 45, a mother of two from San Fernando, La Union, who decided to serve a notice of termination on Nov 4 after working for her employer for 11 months.

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She cited as reasons her employers being heavy smokers, her lady boss constantly shouting at her, and her being made to serve four persons instead of the three stated in the contract. But the clincher was her being made to carry heavy stuff up the employers’ third-floor walk-up flat on Hei Wo St in North Point.

Arlyn quit after being made to carry furniture up a third-floor walkup flat

Macadenden said her worst experience was having to carry up the narrow, spiral stairway a cabinet the employer had ordered and was delivered only on the sidewalk.

“She told me to dismantle the cabinet and carry the parts piece by piece. They were so heavy that my wrists ached,” she said, showing her slightly swollen wrists.

She said she lost much of her hands’ strength that while carrying her employer’s year-old baby once, she nearly dropped him. That terrified her.

She told the employer she was quitting because could no longer carry heavy loads up the stairs. The employer bought her a plane ticket and told her before she left the flat on Dec 4 that if she wanted to return, she would be welcome.

Agustin and Macadenden have both found new employers for whom, they hoped, they would get better treatment and a more secure job.

Both were lucky. If their contracts were terminated after Dec 30, they would not have been allowed to remain in Hong Kong and move to a new job. As of that date, Immigration has resumed its hardline policy of allowing terminated FDWs to stay for only 14 days before returning to their home country.

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Police and other law enforcers to help with contact tracing

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By The SUN

Police will now help track down close contacts of infected patients

Health officials have announced that about 100 officers from the disciplinary forces, meaning the police, immigration and customs, will help track down close contacts of confirmed Covid-19 patients starting on Monday.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, communicable disease head at the Centre for Health Protection said the law enforcers will start working with medical staff at a new command centre in Kai Tak.

Chuang said the officers will be given a briefing and an on-the-job training. They will be tasked with looking for close contacts at their homes if they can’t be reached by phone.

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She made the announcement as she reported 33 new coronavirus infections today, Jan 7, which brought the total number of cases in Hong Kong to 9,108. About 30 preliminary positive cases were also reported.

Four of the new cases were imported, and the 29 others, locally acquired, including 5 with unknown sources.

The 24 linked cases included 11 linked to the construction site at the Tseung Kwan O – Lam Tin tunnel. There are now 27 cases in this cluster, made up of 15 workers and 12 of their close contacts, many of whom were confirmed to have the virus while in quarantine.

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The imported cases were all returnees – one from Nepal, and three from Pakistan.

Chui says it's not yet time to relax as there are still many silent carriers around

Undersecretary for Food and Health Dr Chui Tak-yi said at the daily press briefing that between Dec 24 and 30 last year, a total of 425 Covid-19 cases were recorded, more than a third (35%) of whom were from unknown sources.

Between Dec 31 last year and Jan 6 this year, there were 296 cases, mostly locally acquired. Of these, 27% had untraceable sources.

In this two-week period, 26% of the patients had no symptoms, underlining the need to remain vigilant as the silent transmission in the community continues to claim more victims.

Chui said that even though the total number of cases has gone down in the last few days, people should still avoid gathering as the epidemic may rebound sharply if precautions are not taken.

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