Filipina DH wants full payment for partial work on rest days

By Vir B. Lumicao

The Tribunal said the worker must prove she is entitled to be paid for working before taking a day off

A Filipina helper who is claiming a refund of her hotel quarantine cost and full payment for rest days when she was required to work for eight hours by her former employer, was asked by a Labor Tribunal officer to show proof the law allows those claims.

Presiding Officer W.H. Pun issued the order to Ann Gerette Tangub as he left his decision hanging on her claims of $2,469.33 for working partly on 16 of her rest days (calculated at $154.33 per day) and $4,280 for her quarantine cost.

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The two items are part of a total claim of $21,810.32 that Tangub has filed against the employer, Sung Yuki Kathy.

Pun questioned Tangub’s claim for the cost of her hotel quarantine when she returned to Hong Kong in December, but she argued her employer had signed an undertaking in Immigration agreeing to bear the cost.

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The officer also asked her why she was claiming full pay for the days she was made to work only for a few hours. Tangub did not reply.

The officer adjourned the case to an unspecified later date and told both parties to gather proof to support their claims against each other.

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Tangub brought her case to the Tribunal after rejecting Sung’s offer to pay for 25 days’ wages, $100 food allowance and $180 hospital fee during a meeting at the Labour Relations Division.

Sung fired the helper following an argument during she called police and asked them to take Tangub to hospital for a psychiatric checkup. But Sung insisted she terminated the helper for a reason and refused to pay a month’s salary in lieu of notice.

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Tangub disagreed, and filed a claim for salary in lieu of $4,630;  arrears in wages totaling $4,012.66; refund of $1,500 which she said the employer deducted from her salary as her share in paying the agency fee; annual leave pay of $374.55; and statutory holiday pay of $153.78.

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Tangub is also asking $3,200 for a Hong Kong-Manila-Iloilo air ticket, travel food allowance, expenses totaling $590 and reimbursement of $500 for her rebooking fee.

In court, Sung insisted she had reason to dismiss Tangub summarily and should thus not pay salary in lieu. The presiding officer advised her to follow up her police case against the helper, as Sung said she never made a report to the police.

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The employer agreed to pay the arrears in wages but rejected Tangub’s claim to be paid in full for all her rest days when she was made to work about three hours before leaving the house and until past midnight after returning at 8pm.

Sung also rejected claims for the supposed wage deduction for agency fee, and refund for the helper’s 14-day hotel quarantine in December.

However, she eventually agreed to pay her air ticket at a future date based on the price at that time, as well as the $100 travel allowance.

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HK man tests positive for Covid-19 variant in Australia

By Daisy CL Mandap

The man from HK was found to carry the variant on arrival in Melbourne on Jun 29

A man who had flown from Hong Kong has tested positive for Covid-19 involving the Delta mutant strain on his arrival in the Australian city of Melbourne.

A statement released by the Centre for Health Protection tonight, Jul 7, says the 52-year-old patient departed Hong Kong via flight TR981 in the evening of Jun 26, and transited in Singapore where he stayed for several hours. He left for Melbourne the next day on board flight TR18.

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CHP said that while the man tested negative for his pre-boarding Covid-19 test taken in Hong Kong on Jun 24, he was found infected on arrival in Melbourne on Jun 29. He remains asymptomatic.

As a precaution, the CHP tonight ordered an overnight lockdown on the building where he lived before departing Hong Kong. This is Chung Mei Building at 149-157 Tai Kok Tsui Road in Yau Tsim Mong.

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Residents of the building will also be subject to compulsory testing on Days 3, 7, 12 and 19 counting from the day on which the case is announced.

The  man last went to work on 21/F, Tower 1, Kowloon Commerce Centre, Kwai Chung. His workplace and the places he had visited during the infectious period will all be put under compulsory testing notice.

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The CHP said it is following up the case with Australian health authorities and is conducting its own epidemiological investigations.

Earlier, CHP reported only one imported case in Hong Kong, involving a 32-year-old man who arrived from Greece, and tested positive at the airport. He was asymptomatic.

Only 4 people may sit together in most restaurants still

Meanwhile, the government tonight announced that it is keeping for another two weeks most of the social distancing regulations that are currently enforced, including the prohibition on more than four people gathering together in public.

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In a statement, the government said that while the local epidemic situation has become stable, the threat from mutant strains currently affecting many countries around the world  cannot be ignored.

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“If the vaccination rate in Hong Kong can be raised sooner to achieve herd immunity, the social distancing measures can be further relaxed to allow Hong Kong to return to normality as soon as possible,” said the statement.

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“We call on the public again to receive vaccination as early as possible."

Health officials say Hong Kong is now on target to achieve a vaccination rate of at least 50% by the end of August. But a rate of at least 70% is needed before the city can achieve herd immunity. 

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Unifil marks 36th year with call for govt accountability and improved workers’ welfare

By Daisy CL Mandap 

Unifil-Migrante has been serving Filipino migrants for the past 36 years

One of the oldest organizations serving Filipino migrants in Hong Kong has marked its 36^th anniversary with its leaders urging members and supporters to help expose the lack of financial support for overseas Filipino workers amid the pandemic, and the governement’s failure to provide enough jobs back home.

Dolores Balladares, chair of United Filipinos in Hong Kong (Unifil-Migrante HK) said in her speech during an online program held on Jul 4, Sunday, that the lack of job opportunities back home has been a long-standing concern of her organization, but this has been made worse by the spread of the coronavirus.

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Balladares said the government of President Rodrigo Duterte has done nothing to protect the rights and welfare of Filipinos working abroad.

“Kailangan na patuloy na ilantad ang kawalan ng suporta at tulong sa mga OFWs lalo ngayong pandemya, para igiit sa gobyernong Duterte  at tiyakin na ibigay ang lahat ng tulong sa mga OFWs,” Balladares said. (We have to continuously expose the lack of support and help to OFWs, especially during the pandemic, so the Duterte government can be forced to ensure they get the help that’s due them).

Duterte's government has failed to fulfill promises he made to OFWs, says Balladares

With less than a year to go before his term ends, President Duterte has nothing to show in terms of fulfilling the promises he made to OFWs, said Balladares, from removing the overseas employment certificate that adds to their burden each time they have to go home, to giving them jobs back in the Philippines.

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“Puro pangako, pero mabilis sa koleksyon at panunupil at pandarahas sa mga Pilipino,” said Balladares. (He made a lot of false promises, but <his government> was quick in exacting fees and suppressing and intimidating Filipinos).

She said all throughout its 36 years of existence, Unifil has always fought for improving the lives of Filipino migrants so that they may soon be able to go back home and be with their families without having to worry about providing for a better future for their families.

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Shiela Bonifacio, Unifil’s vice-chair, said the government’s attempts at “red-tagging” migrants who dare speak out against their unfavourable treatment and the ills that the country faces, is a desperate attempt to cover up for its failures.

“Lahat tayo sa paningin ng gobyerno ay terorista. Tayo kasi ang naglalabas ng tunay na kabulukan ng gobyerno,” Bonifacio said. (We are all terrorists in the eyes of the government. This is because we are the only ones who dare expose its rotten mishandling of the country’s affairs).

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As an example, she said: “Kaya galit ang gobyerno ni Duterte sa Unifil kasi dahil sa atin, hindi sila makasingil ng mandatory PhilHealth.” (The reason why Duterte’s government is angry at Unifil is because we are the ones who have prevented them from enforcing mandatory contribution to PhilHealth).

She urged her fellow migrants not to give in to attempts to silence them, saying that is precisely what the government wants, which is to silence them.

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Taking a bolder stance in addressing problems faced by migrant workers and the country as a whole was Eman Villanueva, Unifil secretary-general. Villanueva said the only way to eliminate the many ills that have beset the country for the past five years was to get Duterte out of his post.

Villanueva says people should not wait until next year's election to boot Duterte out

He said people should not wait until the presidential election next year to get relief from all the problems that have beset the country since Duterte came to power in 2016.

“Hindi na dapat patagalin ang berdugong rehimen ni Duterte,” he said (Duterte’s killer regime should not be allowed to continue). “Kung magtatagal pa ito ay lalong maghihirap ang ating bayan.” (If it lasts longer our country will suffer even more.

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Villanueva said the country continues to suffer because its wealth is in the hands of a few, there is widespread corruption, and the government continues to enable the corrupt while punishing the innocent and the powerless.

Villanueva, who also chairs Bayan Hong Kong and Macau, is the longest-serving officer of Unifil-Migrante.

Meanwhile, a string of Filipino community leaders representing various organizations and interests congratulated Unifil on its anniversary, and extolled its many years of service to migrants.

Former Labor Attache and Commissioner Bernardino Julve, a Hong Kong resident, also sent his well-wishes to Unifil, a group he had worked closely with during his posting in the city. Julve is now one a convenor of 1Sambayan Hong Kong chapter, a group dedicated to choosing the best possible candidates for the national posts that will be contested in next year’s general elections.

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Polo gets flak for passing on refund claims to POEA without telling workers

By Vir B. Lumicao

Thousands of OFWs in HK have filed claims for training fee refund in Polo

The Philippine Overseas Labor Office has come under fire over its alleged irregular practice of forwarding refund claims by overseas Filipino workers to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration in Manila without prior notice to claimants.

This came as Assistant Labor Attache Antonio Villafuerte disclosed today, Jul 6,that Polo has recommended the preventive suspension of more than five recruitment agencies in Manila that “numerous” OFWs have accused of charging them illegal training fee.

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Villafuerte said that in these cases, the agencies were the subject of complaints from more than 10 workers. He said the move is taken to stop the agencies from preying on more applicants.

“Kasi, kung dito ang conciliation, tuloy pa rin ang pambibiktima ng mga agency sa Manila,” Villafuerte said. (The reason is, if the conciliation is held here, the agencies in Manila will continue victimizing other jobseekers.)

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He said that apart from these cases, also referred to POEA are those where conciliation has failed, or those nearing expiration, to prevent them going to naught.

Workers who are in Hong Kong may execute a power of attorney in favor of someone who could represent them at the hearing, Villafuerte said.

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Because of the pandemic, he said POEA is also considering online conciliation meetings via Zoom to allow the worker to directly participate in the hearing, even if he or she is far from Metro Manila, where most of the complaints are heard.

Villafuerte says claims are forwarded to POEA when there are numerous complainants

But migrant leaders are not buying into this explanation, saying referring the case to POEA without any attempt to settle the case in Hong Kong is highly irregular.

Dolores Balladares, chair of Unifil Migrante Hong Kong, said this is a blatant mishandling of the complaints filed by the workers, who want an explanation from Polo as to why this is happening.

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“Una, kinokendena namin ang kabagalan at aksyon nila na walang impormasyon sa mga biktima. Hindi totoo na yung malapit ng mag-expire ang kaso ang ini-endorse nila sa POEA, may mga kaso na 2019 at 2020 at 2021 nga, na-endorse na sa POEA,” said Balladares. (First, we condemn the sluggishness and their act of not informing the victims. It’s not true that the cases they endorsed to POEA are about to expire; there are 2019, 2020 and 2021 cases that they have endorsed to POEA.)

Balladares said the core problem now is Polo didn’t tell the victims about endorsing their cases to the Philippines, so they were surprised when they got summonses from Manila.

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Secondly, she said Polo is not following the conciliation process, which calls for the victim and the agency to meet up to three times to try and settle their differences, before the case is passed on to POEA.

Another problem encountered by worker-complainants was that they were charged notarization fee for the special power of attorney they needed to send a representative to the POEA hearing, said Balladares.

Finally, she said no one answers calls to the Polo hotline.

In some cases, she said the workers have complained of being harassed by their agencies who want the claims against them dropped.

“Meron kaming kaso bukas, may conciliation sa Polo, hina-harass ng agency ang biktima, pati employer tinatawagan,” she said. (We have a conciliation case at Polo tomorrow. The agency is harassing the victim and is even calling her employer.)

Balladares insists all conciliation hearings should be done in Hong Kong, and only when the parties fail to settle their differences should the case be forwarded to POEA, with due notice to both sides.

Thousands of workers have filed claims for a refund after Labor Attaché Melchor Dizon said last year that agencies were illegally requiring outbound domestic helpers to undergo training, even if POEA does not require this.

It is not immediately clear how many of the claims have been resolved or passed on to POEA for settlement.

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FDW applications for $5k e-vouchers will fail, says scheme staff

By Daisy CL Mandap

The scheme website clearly states that applicants should be HKPIC or EC holders

A surge in the number of applicants for the $5,000 electronic spending vouchers that the Hong Kong government is giving away as part of its pandemic relief efforts may be due in part to a number of foreign domestic workers signing up for the windfall.

As of 8am today, the third day of registration, more than 3.2 million people had already registered, according to government staff.

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But what the system administrators apparently did not know was that many of the more than $300,000 FDWs in the city were among those who had immediately signed up for the spending vouchers, after word got around that their applications were being accepted online.

Several Filipina DWs posted on various Facebook sites that they managed to get through the application process, and were immediately rewarded by e-wallet providers like Alipay and WeChat with cash transfers of more than $30 each.

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Many said they were even helped by their employers in completing their applications, while some said staff from the competing companies that want the vouchers transferred to the e-wallets they provide also offered to help them register.

Alipay promotion staff stationed near the North Point market appeared to be exception to this, though, as the first thing they asked people who approached them was whether they were permanent residents.

Alipay is one of 4 companies trying to get the vouchers transferred to their ewallets

Told about the apparent glitch in the system, staff manning the information hotline of the e-voucher scheme said that completing the registration process does not guarantee that the application will be approved.

“We will accept all applications into the system. After a week, you will be told if your application has been approved,” said the staff. "Rejected applicants will be told clearly why their applications failed."

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The website is very clear about who is qualified. Three categories are cited: (1) holders of HK permanent identity cards (HKPIC) who turned 18 years old on or before Jun 18, 2021 and have not been away longer than two years before this date; (2) holder of a HKID card or certificate of exemption with a one-way permit from China; and (3) dependants of permanent residents holding either a HKID or an EC.

In addition, the applicant is asked to make a declaration right at the beginning that he or she is a holder of a HKPIC or a qualified holder of a HKID.

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Despite the clear rules, no penalty will be imposed on those who applied despite not being qualified because they might not know they are not eligible, said the staff. However, he added it will be a waste of time for them to even try getting past the scrutiny.

As of this afternoon, however, the oversight that allowed many FDWs to register for the e-vouchers has apparently been plugged, with recent applicants with the WX prefix in their HK IDs saying they could no longer get through the system.

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Earlier, the government’s Chief Information Officer Victor Lam said the verification process for applicants was made simpler, following complaints that it was too tedious.

From today, applicants are being asked to clink only two checkboxes for pictures, instead of the previous three. The time limit for electronic registration has also been extended to 45 minutes from the previous 30 minutes to give applicants more time to complete their registration.

Those who have yet to apply are being urged to use their iAM Smart mobile account to register so it will be faster.

Otherwise, they can register through the scheme’s dedicated website, where they will be asked to prove their identity by answering security questions relating to last year’s cash payout scheme or by providing personal information and uploading a copy of their HKID cards.

Another alternative is to submit paper forms which they can drop, together with a copy of their HK ID card, into the drop boxes at 560 collection points in different districts starting today, Jul 5.

The collection points include all post offices and designated branches of Bank of China, Bank of East Asia, Hang Seng Bank, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank.

The scheme, which allows people to buy goods electronically on their smartphones using their Octopus cards of any of the e-wallets provided by Alipay, Tap and Go or WeChat, is expected to benefit about 7.2 million residents.

For more details, visit www.consumptionvoucher.gov.hk or call the hotline, 18 5000.

 

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