Phl agencies sent 80% fewer DHs to HK last year amid pandemic

By Vir B. Lumicao 

Filipino workers lining up at Polo: Actual drop in their numbers in HK was just 7%

Deployment of Filipino domestic helpers to Hong Kong took a deep dive of nearly 80% last year due to several factors that were mostly related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Figures from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration database show only 32,263 workers were deployed by Philippine recruitment agencies to Hong Kong last year, down sharply from the 159,107 deployed in 2019.

But the drop of 126,844 refers only to Filipino DHs who did not pass through agencies in the Philippines, largely as a result of Hong Kong’s policy shift last year that allowed terminated workers to remain here and process new work contracts.

Pindutin para sa detalye

The actual drop in the number of Filipino DHs working here last year was only more than 15,000, according to Hong Kong Immigration figures, accounting for just about 7.5% of the total workforce.

And there are already signs of improvement with the number of Filipino DHs rebounding to 206,481 in February, as 1,700 of them arrived in Hong Kong within the month.

The big drop was in the number of Filipino DHs who left the Phl amid the pandemic

The Hong Kong Union of Employment Agencies, which shared the POEA data, described the shrinkage in deployment from the Philippines as “shocking.”

Call now!

 

Thomas Chan, president of the HKUEA, cited the following as possible contributing factors:

·      Greatly reduced recruitment in the Philippines due to lockdown in many areas outside of Manila;

 ·      Drop in demand in Hong Kong for Filipino due to the high costs of agency fee, swab test and 21-day quarantine imposed on employers;

Pindutin para sa detalye

·       Employers’ worry that the workers would test positive on arrival, prompting them to hire those who were already in Hong Kong

·       Lengthier processing of work contracts in the Philippines, which led to lots of visas being cancelled because employers could not wait.

The POEA statistics showed that rehires, who make up the bulk of the deployed workforce, shrank to  as low as 18,923 last year from 113,630 a year earlier.

CALL US!

Again, this just indicates the huge number of FDHs in Hong Kong who were able to process new work contracts on site without having to return to the Philippines and go through agencies again after being terminated.

The so-called “agency hires”, or those who left the Philippines to work in Hong Kong for the first time, slipped from 45,443 in 2019 to 13,336 last year. 

This was the result of intermittent lockdowns between Metro Manila and the provinces, and the tightening of restrictions for travel to Hong Kong.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love

There were only four “direct” hires – or those who did not go through recruitment agencies - last year, compared with 34 a year earlier.

BASAHIN ANG DETALYE

PADALA NA!

CALL US!

Immigration unveils contact-less applications for FDH visas

By The SUN 

Immigration wants fewer FDH visa applicants visiting their offices

The Immigration Department launched today, Mar 5, a new scheme of processing contact-less applications for foreign domestic helper visas.

The Smart Renewal service allows persons who apply online for a visa extension or renewal for an FDH, to skip going to an office of the Immigration Department to collect the visa and pay the fee, once their application is approved.

Pindutin para sa detalye

This new service is available for FDHs who are (1) renewing their contracts with the same employer; (2) are to complete the remaining period of the current contract; or (3) applying for a deferral of home leave under the emergency guidelines during the pandemic.

To avail, applicants may log in to Immigration’s dedicated page, “Online Services for Foreign Domestic Helpers” (www.immd.gov.hk/fdh) to complete an online application form.

Call now!

 

Once the application is approved, a notification of approval will pop up, along with a general demand note (GDN) indicating the fee amount along with the payment details.

Payment of the indicated fee may be done through various means, such as the Faster Payment System (PPS), Internet banking, Payment by Phone Service (PPS) or automatic teller machines, or in person at a post office or convenience store. 

CLICK FOR DETAILS

Once Immigration acknowledges receipt of the visa fee, the visa and/or extension of stay label will be mailed to the employer’s correspondence address. The label must then be affixed to the FDH’s passport as instructed. 

In case no correspondence address has been provided, the visa labels will be sent to the address indicated in the employment contract.

Pindutin para sa detalye

This means that throughout the application process for these types of services, the worker or the employer need not be physically present at an Immigration office to pay the fee or collect the visa label.

At present, those who submit FDH visa applications are required to, upon approval of their applications, pay the fee and collect the visa in person or through an authorised representative from an Immigration Department branch.

Sample of FDH visa indicating validity and other conditions

However, the process will remain unchanged for applications made through other means - by post, drop-in box or in-person - and in special cases requiring in-person submission or interview.

In these cases, the applicant must go personally to an Immigration branch as before to attend an interview, or pick up an approved visa.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

A statement issued by Immigration urged applicants for FDH visas to consider going through the Smart Renewal Service so they can reduce traveling outside their homes, and contribute to the campaign to contain the coronavirus.

The new arrangement was introduced amid mounting concerns among FDHs whose visa extension applications remain stuck in Immigration, even if their permits to remain in Hong Kong had already expired.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love

Immigration says it will explore the possibility of extending the Smart renewal service to other FDH visa-related applications.

For details of the Smart Renewal service, please visit www.immd.gov.hk/fdh or call the enquiry hotline at 2824 6111, or fax to 2877 7711 or email enquiry@immd.gov.hk.

BASAHIN ANG DETALYE

PADALA NA!

Call us!

 

 

 

2 Filipinas with coronavirus variant among 11 new infections

By Vir B. Lumicao

The 3 FDHs were found infected while in quarantine at various hotels

Three foreign domestic helpers, comprising two Filipinas with the highly infectious N501Y variant and one Indonesian woman, were among 11 coronavirus cases that were confirmed by Hong Kong health authorities today, Mar 5.

The new cases took the total tally of confirmed infections in Hong Kong to 11,067.

Pindutin para sa detalye

The first Filipina, aged 29, arrived from Manila on Feb 19 and tested negative upon arrival at the airport but developed symptoms four days later while in quarantine at Ramada Hong Kong Harbour View in Sai Ying Pun.

She was confirmed positive on Thursday after her second test, a spokesman for the Centre for Health Protection said.

Call now!

 

Another Filipina, 25, tested negative upon arrival in Hong Kong on Feb 20. She was asymptomatic but returned a positive result after her second test on the 12^th day of quarantine at Metropark Hotel Kowloon in Homantin.

The two brought to seven the number of new arrivals from the Philippines found to have the variant in the past 10 days.

The Indonesian helper, 45, arrived from Jakarta also on Feb 20 and was negative during the airport test. She stayed for her quarantine in Ramada Hong Kong Harbourview in North Point, where her second test was positive.

CLICK FOR DETAILS

Among the newly reported cases are four local with unknown sources while the remaining four were linked to previous infections.    

A 37-year-old Sri Lankan woman who was among 10 people reported as preliminary positive by Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan in the CHP’s press briefing yesterday was confirmed positive today.

Pindutin para sa detalye

She was working as a part-time domestic helper in a village house in Clearwater Bay. The case, however, was considered as a local case with no known source of infection, a CHP spokesman said.

The first case with unknown sources was a 47-year-old man from Discovery Park, Tsuen Wan, who developed fever on Mar 1. His sample collected on Mar 3 tested positive.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

The patient is a clerk of the Labour Department at the Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices. He last went to work on Wednesday, the CHP said.

The second case with unknown sources was an 18-year-old male student from Hiu Fai House, Hiu Lai Court, Sau Mau Ping. He developed a headache and fever on Feb 22.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love

His sample was collected on Mar 1 and tested positive yesterday. He did not return to school when face-to-face classes resumed on Monday.

A 48-year-old man who developed fever on Mar 1 was the third case with unknown sources. Sample collected from him on that day was confirmed positive yesterday.

Health officials said he is a clerical staff who lived in Kui Yan Court, Sai Ying Pun and last went to work on Feb 26.

A total of 235 cases have been recorded in the past 14 days from Feb 19 to Mar 4. They included 197 local cases, of which 66 had unknown sources.
    
The CHP said its epidemiological investigations and relevant contact tracing on the confirmed cases are ongoing.

The CHP reminded those who had visited specified venues under the Prevention and Control of Disease Regulation (Cap. 599J) to undergo nucleic acid testing as required in the compulsory testing notice. It urged the public to see a doctor if symptoms develop.

BASAHIN ANG DETALYE

PADALA NA!

Call us!

Sri Lankan DH tests preliminary positive for Covid-19

By Daisy CL Mandap 

Chuang reported 9 new Covid-19 cases, and more than 10 preliminary positive ones

A Sri Lankan domestic worker was among around 10 preliminary positive cases of Covid-19 reported by the Centre for Health Protection today, Mar 4.

According to CHP’s Dr Chuang Shuk-wan, the 37-year-old woman works in a village house in Clearwater Bay along with another foreign domestic helper, but their employer is not in Hong Kong.

A staff member at CHP said following a phone enquiry that the FDH is from Sri Lanka.

Pindutin para sa detalye

The infected FDH lives at Honour House in Yau Ma Tei, and her source of infection is unknown. If her test result is confirmed tomorrow, her fellow worker will be put under quarantine, said Chuang.

The 3 imported cases include a Filipina DH found to have the coronavirus variant

The other preliminary cases with unknown sources include an 18-year-old male student from Sau Mau Ping, a 48-year-old male clerk who lives in Sham Shui Po, and a 47-year-old male staff of the Labour Department in Cheung Sha Wan who visited a total of eight restaurants during the incubation period.

The CHP official said there were nine confirmed cases today, three of them imported. 

Call now!

 

They include a 29-year-old female FDH who flew in from the Philippines aboard a Cebu Pacific flight, and was also found to have the coronavirus variant.

She brought to 51 the total number of cases with the variant found in Hong Kong, said Chuang, who also said they are “a cause for concern.”

CALL US!

The two other imported cases are a 32-year-old Indonesian DH and a 12-year-old boy from Pakistan, who both also tested positive at the airport.

Only one of the six local cases had an unknown source, a 69-year-old security guard who works at a building in Sham Shui Po and lives in Tin Shui Wai. Tenants in his office building and residents in his block will have to undergo compulsory testing.

CONTACT US!

Among the linked cases is a second staff at the Cartier boutique in K11 Musea, who was found infected while in quarantine.

Chuang said it’s unclear if the two infections from the shop are related to the cluster of cases from Mr Ming’s Chinese restaurant in the same mall. There are now a total of 50 cases from that cluster: nine staff, 22 patrons and 19 close contacts.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love

The linked cases also include two close contacts of a retired academic staff at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology who appeared to have picked up the virus from a friend who recently arrived from Shanghai and was allowed to skip quarantine.

According to Hospital Authority’s Dr Lau Ka-hin, a 78-year-old male patient at Princess Margaret Hospital with chronic diseases passed away earlier today at Princess Margaret Hospital from complications from Covid-19.

His death brought to 195 the total number of coronavirus-related fatalities in public hospitals in Hong Kong.

The total number of confirmed cases in Hong Kong has reached 11,056 as of today.

Among the 229 confirmed patients still being treated in public hospitals and two treatment facilities, 13 are in critical condition, 12 are seriously ill, while the remaining 197 are stable.

BASAHIN ANG DETALYE

Call us!

CALL ME!

Filipina DH loses job after being publicly harassed by ex-bf

By Vir B. Lumicao 

The helper's belongings strewn on a pavement after she was terminated on the spot

A 30-year-old Filipina domestic helper lost her job Wednesday after her former boyfriend whom she claimed to have been harassing her for nearly two years pounced on her at her ward’s kindergarten school in Tseung Kwan O.

The 39-year-old Indian man, who holds recognizance papers that prevent him being deported, caused such a commotion that the Filipina had to shout for help, and the school to call 999 for assistance.

Unfortunately for her, the school felt compelled to call her employers, who immediately rushed to the scene, and after talking with the police, decided to fire her on the spot.

Pindutin para sa detalye

According to the Filipina, her former boyfriend had tried to grab her bag with her wallet and telephone, then harangued her afterwards on the schoolyard.

She said the man had been stalking her for nearly two years, alternately threatening her and creating fake accounts in her name on Facebook, and demanding money.

On the advice of people she recently consulted about her case, she stopped giving money to the man and responding to his messages through phone and her Facebook account.

Call now!

That appeared to have enraged the man that he decided to waylay her.

A police spokeswoman confirmed the incident at 9:50am at the kindergarten on Lohas Park Rd. But she said officers who responded to a 999 call from the school had released the man and logged the incident as a “financial dispute case.”

The spokeswoman said normally no arrest is made in dispute cases. That meant the man in question was able to walk free after questioning at the police station in Po Lam.

CALL US!

The Filipina was supposed to be interviewed by the police in turn, after talking to the man and her male employer at the station.

However, after she was fired, her employers decided to take her immediately to the Labour Relations Division office in Kai Tak to settle their financial obligations to her.

They left her there afterwards, and staff at the office gave her until 6:30pm to clear her stuff and look for a place to stay.

CONTACT US!

Luckily, a hostel in Kowloon had space, and agreed to take her in after The SUN interceded on her behalf.

The Filipina, who was emotional as she narrated the incident, said she had been repeatedly embarrassed by the man who had falsely accused her of embezzling $78,000 of his money, forcing his mango business to collapse.

But she said the man had concocted the tale after failing to get her to reconcile with him and continue subsidizing his needs. She said the man, being a torture claimant, had no money as he was not allowed to work while fighting deportation from Hong Kong.\

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love

All that he had given her during the brief time that they were together were worthless trinkets, said the helper. But he had allegedly been telling other people that she left him after accepting valuable gifts, and skimming money off him

The Filipina said that after she had recovered from her nightmarish experience, she would file a formal complaint against the man for stalking, blackmailing and smearing her and her 14-year-old daughter on Facebook.

Among the evidence she showed were photos of her daughter on a fake Facebook account allegedly created by her tormentor in which she was made to appear to be offering the girl for sex.

The helper said she met the Indian man on an online dating site, badoo, in March 2019. She was impressed because he introduced himself as a worker at Justice Centre Hong Kong and had a mango business with several shops across the city.

He also claimed he was a doctor’s son and was deputy chief of a firm called Biotechnical Medicine Lab, receiving a salary of $50,000 a month, she said.

Their friendship became intimate in July 2019. Soon, the man was allegedly badgering her about opening an account and taking out a loan at DBS Bank or Bank of East Asia. He also pestered her for a copy of her passport and Hong Kong ID but she refused.

The worker said she thought she had shaken off her tormentor when she moved to her employers in Lohas Park last August after finishing her contract with a family in Tin Shui Wai.

But the man was able to find her and had since been stalking and trying to get hold of her until the incident yesterday morning.

Since breaking off with the man, she said she had been blackmailed into giving him thousands of dollars, leaving her depressed and destitute.

BASAHIN ANG DETALYE

Call us!

CALL ME!