Expiring FDH contracts may now be extended for up to 6 months

By The SUN 

FDH contracts that will expire before Dec 31 may now be extended for up to 6 months

Foreign domestic helper contracts that will expire on or before Dec 31 this year may be extended for a maximum period of six months, according to new “flexibility arrangements” announced by the Hong Kong government today, Sept 28.

If the existing contract has already been extended previously under the same arrangement announced on Jun 28, the employer may extend the period of employment for an additional six months, as long as the FDH agrees.

The statement said that if a new FDH being hired by the employer cannot be arranged to come to HK within the six-month extension and the existing worker’s services are still needed, then the current contract should be renewed.

The new rules mark a radical departure from the previous practice of allowing only a maximum of three months’ extension to FDH contracts. After the extension lapsed, employers were told to either sign up the helper for a new contract, or release her.

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It comes amid a clamor for more FDHs stranded abroad, mostly in the Philippines and Indonesia, which were both placed under a flight ban in April and June, respectively, to be allowed in.

Thousands of workers from both countries are waiting to come in, but only 50 of them are allowed to come in each day, as part of Hong Kong’s effort to curb the number of imported infections.

According to the government statement, the measures are meant “to assist foreign domestic helpers and their employers to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic.”

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In line with this policy, FDHs who have been told to return to their home country within one year of renewing their contracts or signing up with the new employer, may also now ask for a deferment of up to the end of their contract period.

“In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government will further extend the relevant flexibility arrangement announced on December 30, 2020,” said the announcement.

“If an FDH is unable to return to his/her place of origin within the aforementioned one-year period, he/she may, upon agreement with his/her employer, apply to the Immigration Dept for a further extension of the limit of stay until the end of his/her contract…”

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As with contract renewals, applications for deferring home leaves can be made with the Immigration Department within eight weeks before the expiration of the existing contracts.

However, the statement said the requirement that FDHs should return to their place of origin continues to be in place.

“Employers should arrange for their FDHs to return to the place of origin within the extended limit of stay,” it added.

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The government said it will continue to monitor the situation and review the new measures and flexibility arrangements when necessary.

FDHs are urged to apply for visas online instead of queuing at Immigration offices

To reduce the number of people at Immigration, those who wish to submit visa applications for FDHs are urged to do so online by visiting www.immd.gov.hk/fdh .

In addition, Immigration has introduced the Smart Renewal service that enables persons to submit visa applications for FDHs online, by post or by drop-in box and, upon approval of their applications, pay the visa fee through various means and collect the visas by post (except for special or individual circumstances).

Those who wish to enquire about application status, submit supplementary documents, and give notification of premature termination of employment contract may do all these via the dedicated webpage mentioned above.

“There is no need for them to attend an office of the ImmD in person for going through the formalities, which is both convenient and time-saving while reducing travelling and contributing to the efforts to fight the virus together,” said the statement.

For enquiries on employment rights and benefits, contact Labour’s dedicated FDH hotline at 2157 9537 (manned by 1823) or by email to fdh-enquiry@labour.gov.hk.

The dedicated FDH Portal (www.fdh.labour.gov.hk) set up by the LD also provides information and useful links relating to the employment of FDHs.

For enquiries on FDH visa applications, please contact the ImmD by calling the enquiry hotline at 2824 6111 or by sending email to enquiry@immd.gov.hk. 

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13 new Covid-19 cases reported, including 3 FDHs, 5 family members

By Daisy CL Mandap 

QR 818 from Doha flew in with six infected passengers on Sunday

Hong Kong reported 13 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 today, Sept 28. All the patients, which include three babies, have been found to carry the L452 mutant strain of the coronavirus.

Six of them flew in aboard Qatar Air flight QR 818 from Doha on Sept 26, prompting Hong Kong authorities to suspend the flight for two weeks from today until Oct. 11

According to staff at the Centre for Health Protection, five of these six passengers were members of the same household.

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They include a 54-year-old foreign domestic helper and all three babies, two of them male twins aged 8 months, and another baby boy aged 6 months.

The other member of the family who tested positive on arrival at Hong Kong airport is a 36-year-old woman. All of them had come from Morocco before taking the flight from Doha.

The two women who were with the babies were fully vaccinated with BioNTech in Hong Kong between March and May this year. Apart from one of the twins who showed symptoms on arrival, everyone was asymptomatic.

The sixth passenger of the banned flight is a 37-year-old man who had flown to Italy on Sept 11 and returned to Hong Kong after 15 days.

As he was in Hong Kong for part of the incubation period, Jones Hive in Causeway Bay where he lived, and his place of work on the 23^rd floor of Lee Garden Three, will be put under compulsory testing notice (CTN).

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Also among the infected patients are two Filipina domestic helpers who were in quarantine at Penny’s Bay. They both traveled to Hong Kong on Sept 24, but on separate flights.

One of them, who is 33 years, took Cathay Pacific flight CX906 while the other, aged 41, came via Cebu Pacific flight 5J272.

Both received two doses of Sinovac vaccine in the Philippines between Jun 6 and Jul 15. Both do not have any symptoms.

The 2 Filipina DHs tested positive on Day 3 of their stay at Penny's Bay quarantine centre

Three other patients were also on quarantine when found infected.

They include a 22-year-old man who flew in from Kenya aboard QR818 on Sept 19, and was detected with Covid-19 on his seventh-day test while in quarantine at Bridal Tea House hotel in Yau Ma Tei. He received the single-dose Convidecia vaccine in Pakistan.

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Another is a 27-year-old man who flew in from Pakistan aboard Emirates flight EK384 on Sept 24 and was quarantined at Ramada Seaview Hotel in Sai Ying Pun. He received the Sinopharm vaccine in Pakistan in March and April.

The third is an 18-year-old male who came from Kyrgyztan on Sept 24 via OZ721. He was staying at Best Western Hotel in Wanchai when he tested positive.

Two other patients tested positive on their arrival test. One of them is a 28-year-old man who came from the United States via TK083. He had two jabs of BioNTech in Hong Kong on Apr 28  and 19.

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The last patient is a 39-year-old man who came from India via United Arab Emirates aboard Emirates flight EK 384. He, too, was vaccinated in Hong Kong with the BioNTech vaccine on May 7 and 28.

He traveled to India on Sept 10, and returned to Hong Kong with a sore throat on Sept 26.

As he was in Hong Kong during part of the infectious period, Block C of Hankow Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui where he lived previously, as well as his workplace, Shop 9, G/F, CFC Tower, 22-28 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, will also be put under CTN.

The new cases pushed Hong Kong’s total tally to 12,209.

Meanwhile, the CHP said it is also investigating the case of a 37-year-old woman who traveled to Macau on Sept 19, and whose specimen sample collected there on Sept 26 tested positive.

The patient received two doses of Sinovac vaccine on Mar 11 and Apr 8 in Hong Kong. The next day, she travelled to the UAE, then went on to Egypt, Croatia and Montenegro until Jul 10 this year.

As a prudent measure, her residential building, Block 3 of The Zenith at 258 Queen’s Road East in Wanchai will be included in a CTN.

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Filipina DH hangs self in employer’s Tseung Kwan O flat

By Vir B. Lumicao 

The Filipina was found hanging inside her room in this TKO residential block 

A 36-year-old Filipina domestic helper was found dead yesterday, Sept. 27, in an apparent suicide by hanging, in her employer’s flat at a residential block in Tseung Kwan O, Sai Kung, police said.

Her townmates said the victim had been depressed after a friend took out a loan with her as guarantor, then disappeared.

Her death was reported around 2:30 pm to the Tseung Kwan O Police District by the victim’s 40-year-old male employer, a police spokeswoman said.

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The Filipina lived with the employer and his elderly mother in a unit at Ocean Wings, a posh development at No. 28 Tong Chun St.

Police said the employer’s elderly mother reported seeing the helper go to her bedroom around 12 noon, apparently for a nap. When the victim did not come out for lunch, the witness checked and found the Filipina hanging from the ceiling with a nylon rope tied around her neck.

Police investigators who rushed to the scene said the victim was already dead when they arrived. They found no suicide note so they certified the case as “death by hanging.”

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The employer and his mother had reported noticing that the helper had looked depressed for the past several days.

This was confirmed by her fellow domestic workers and townmates, who said in a Facebook post that the victim became despondent after her lesbian friend for whom she had guaranteed a loan at a lending company, suddenly became out of reach.

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They said the the victim was from Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur, married, and had two children.

Another Filipina hanged herself in her room at this Stubb's Road block just over a month ago

 

This is the second case of suicide by hanging involving a Filipina DH in just over a month. On Aug 19, a 41-year-old Filipina also hanged herself in her employer’s house in Wanchai after reportedly being victimized in an ATM scam.

The Consulate’s assistance to nationals section said it had already contacted the family of the deceased worker after the employer reported the incident to them as well as to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration after lunch today.

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An ATN officer said he would issue a reminder to workers on the Consulate’s Facebook page to seek advice from the PCG if they had any problems that need assistance.

Depressed persons are advised to contact The Samaritans Hong Kong on its multilingual 24-hour hotline service, 2896 0000. The charitable group listens to any nationality.

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Penny's Bay to reopen for FDH quarantine booking from Monday

By The SUN 

200 more rooms will be made available to FDHs for quarantine at Penny's Bay starting Oct 22

The Hong Kong government has announced that from Monday, Oct 4, the Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre will reopen booking for foreign domestic helpers coming to work in the city.

A statement released today, Sept 28, also said that an additional 200 rooms will be opened at Penny’s Bay for arriving FDHs starting on Oct. 22, which is the first available date when bookings resume. This raises to 1,000 the total number of units available for their quarantine.

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The bookings were stopped last week, just days after they were opened, after the rooms were quickly snapped up by employers who had waited months for their helpers to be allowed to come to Hong Kong.

In the Philippines, an estimated 4,000 FDHs with employment visas were stranded for nearly four months after Hong Kong imposed a ban on all passenger flights from the country on Apr 20.

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A flight ban on Indonesia, which supplies the second biggest number of FDHs to Hong Kong, was imposed on Jun 25.

Starting at 9am on Monday, Oct. 4, all bookings for FDH quarantine at Penny’s Bay can be done at the FDH portal of the Labour Department: www.fdh.labour.gov.hk.

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On this day, the booking system will display the rooms available for booking from Oct 22 to 28. As before, the number of rooms that will be made available each day will be limited to 50, which means a total of 350 rooms will be up for grabs for the week-long period on a first come, first served basis.

Thereafter, rooms that will be available for reservation in the next round will be displayed on the booking system at 9am every Monday.

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“For example, rooms from Oct 29 to Nov 4 will be available for reservation on Oct 11, and so on,” said the statement.

It added that setting aside more rooms for incoming FDHs was meant to address the needs of employer for FDHs. This can be increased further, depending on the Covid-19 situation in Hong Kong and elsewhere in the world.

As before, an applicant will be contacted within one or two days to acknowledge receipt of the application, and asked to provide certain documents, such as a copy of the FDH's passport, a valid employment visa and a recognised vaccination record.

After verifying the submitted documents, Labour will issue a demand note to the applicant, who must settle payment and produce the receipt within the specified period of time. The booking is completed once the applicant receives confirmation from Labour.

Whenever cancellations are made by applicants, the rooms will be available for booking again.

A typical room at Penny's Bay quarantine centre

Employers, workers and their agents are reminded that they should only book an air ticket for the FDHs after a successful booking has been made.

Penny’s Bay will be available for quarantine by FDHS who have been fully vaccinated in Group A (high risk) countries, including Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates).

FDHs who were vaccinated in Hong Kong may undergo compulsory quarantine at a general designated quarantine hotel, at Silka Tsuen Wan Hotel, or Penny’s Bay.

For enquiries, please contact the Labour hotline at 2717 1771 or by email to fdh-enquiry@labour.gov.hk.

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Filipino DHs turn to guitar playing to relieve stress and grief

By Vir B. Lumicao 

The enthusiastic students squat on the pavement as they strum the blues away

They may not get to attain the stature of Eric Clapton or Santana, but under a bridge below IFC One in Central, about 20 migrant domestic helpers are happy enough to just play the guitar every Sunday, as they try to strum their worries away. 

The ensemble may not be that young, but its members exude the youthful enthusiasm of those just starting to create music with their new instruments under the watchful eye of their fellow worker who is behind the project, Baby Jean de Leon.

The 49-year-old De Leon, an administrator of the online group Domestic Workers Corner, said she started the guitar-playing project on Apr 18 this year as a means to provide domestic helpers in Hong Kong a diversion from the stressful work.

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“Naisipan kong itayo ang grupo dahil sa pagkakaalam ko, ang music ay nakakaalis ng stress sa amo,” said De Leon, who admits she is re-learning the guitar as she had long stopped playing it. (I thought of forming this group because, as far as I know, music can relieve a worker’s stress from her employer).

“Sa pamamagitan nito, kaming mga OFW ay magkakaroon ng peace of mind tuwing araw ng Linggo,” she said. (This way, we OFWs can have peace of mind on Sundays.)

De Leon says guitar-playing helps soothe mind and body

She said helpers like her look for activities that divert them from daily chores, and guitar playing under the bridge is more relaxing than hanging out in Central or other places on their rest day. It can also help bring out their hidden talent in music.

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A fellow FDH helps teach the basics of guitar-playing to students, but De Leon is always around to lend a hand and supervise the group.

Yan Yan B. Obusan, 36, who joined the class on its first day, said guitar-playing drives away her loneliness, especially after losing her father to illness at the weekend.

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The sessions revived her interest in the guitar, which she used to play in her high school days in San Mateo, Isabela. Her brothers’ fondness for music also rubbed off on her. This time, however, she has a deeper reason for playing the guitar.

“Mas lalo ko pong gustong matuto ng gitara ngayon at gusto kong alayan ng kanta ang father kong pumanaw po nung nakaraang araw,” said Obusan. (The more I want to learn how to play the guitar because I want to offer a song to my father, who died yesterday.)

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Another student, Babyjane Estabillo, 42, said watching her father play their neighbor’s guitar when she was young inspired her to learn the skill. But when she got married, she forgot about that dream.

Then she came to Hong Kong more than five years ago and by chance she met her old friend De Leon, who revived her interest in learning how to play.

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“Kaya po dito natupad ang pangarap na bukod sa matututo na akong maggitara, nakabili na rin po ako ng sarili kong gitara,” Estabillo said. (It’s here where I realized my dream of playing the guitar and have also bought my own guitar.)

Another dream of hers came true last Wednesday when she among those picked by DWC for its guitar recording project for Youtube, Estabillo said.

A student focuses on her music sheet, oblivious to passersby 

Thanks to the easy availability of musical instruments in Hong Kong where people start playing them in primary school, it’s not difficult for FDWs to have a guitar of their own.

Guitar prices in Hong Kong are fairly priced. Those who want a brand-new instrument can go to a Tom Lee or Parsons shop and pick up a good one for about $600 and up.

Those with a smaller budget can buy a well-kept, quality instrument on the second-hand market, where a lacquered Toyama sells for $250 or even lower. But if the timing is right, one can have a guitar for free if somebody on their block decides to chuck one out.

Anyone interested in guitar playing can join the morning tutoring session from 9am to 12 noon or the afternoon session from 1pm to 4pm on Sunday, the rest day for most of the 200,000 Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong.

To join the tutoring session, one can register as a member for $50. Attending each session costs $20, which is spent looking for new pieces to play, photocopy and share during the Sunday sessions.

The group is just six months old, but it has already attracted more than 50 students, many of them eager to learn to play the guitar but do not have the financial capacity to join lessons run by professional musicians.

De Leon said that after the morning session, the students are free to hang around and continue practicing.

"Natutuwa sila rito dahil hindi lang sila natututo sa paggigitara, nagkakaroon din sila ng mga bagong kaibigan,” said De Leon. (They’re glad to be here because they not only learn how to play the guitar, they also gain a lot of friends.)

When the students get to a stage where they can already play a tune on their guitars, they’ll be ready for graduation. A ceremony will be held where a certificate of attendance will be given to each student.

(Those interested to join may send a message to Baby Jean de Leon on Facebook, or through the DWC accounts)

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Police looking for elderly man who fled quarantine hotel

By The SUN 

The 75-year-old man left Ramada TST where he was quarantined, yesterday 

Hong Kong police are tonight continuing their search for a 75-year-old man from Italy who walked out of his quarantine hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui yesterday after being told he was to be moved to a government quarantine centre for leaving his room without permission.

A press release posted on the government website said that the Centre for Health Protection was notified by the Ramada Hong Kong Grand Hotel on the evening of Sept 25 that the man had left his hotel room and lingered in the corridor in violation of the compulsory quarantine order.

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The man was then requested by hotel staff to return to his room.

In line with quarantine protocol, the CHP reported the incident to the compliance team of the Food and Health Bureau as well as the police, and a decision was made to move the man to the quarantine center.

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But at around 1pm yesterday, when an ambulance arrived at the hotel to pick up the man, he was nowhere to be found.

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The hotel’s CCTV showed that the man had left the hotel at around 11am that day, and walked towards Nathan Road along Hillwood Road.

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The police continue to search for the missing man, while the FHB compliance team and hotel management are doing their own investigations.

The government appealed to people under isolation to strictly follow quarantine rules in order to protect their health and those of others.

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It also reminded the public that leaving places of quarantine without permission is a criminal offence and offenders are liable to pay a maximum fine of $25,000 and ordered jailed for up to six months.

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