HK Labour Dept to give free briefing on FDH employment rights

 

The Hong Kong Labour Department is giving a free briefing on foreign domestic helper rights on Sunday, Mar 5, 2:30-3:45pm on the 16^th floor of One Mong Kok Road Commercial Centre, Mong Kok.

Admission is on a first come, first served basis and prior enrolment is required. The enrolment form can be found here: https://www.fdh.labour.gov.hk/res/pdf/Enrolment_Forms_20230208.pd

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Registered participants can choose from any of the three groups, in which the lecture will be conducted in either English, Tagalog or Bahasa.

They are urged to come early, as the registration will start at 2pm

The briefing will focus on employment rights of FDHs under Hong Kong employment laws.

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These include being provided:

-          Rest at least one day a week, as well as on statutory holidays and paid annual leave

-          Full salary in the amount stated in the contract, and being paid not later than 7 days after the end of the wage period

-          Free food, or at the employer’s choice, food allowance

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-          Free accommodation ‘with reasonable privacy’

-          Air ticket for the flight to Hong Kong, and return to the place of origin at the end of the two-year contract, or when it is prematurely terminated

-          Free medical treatment, regardless of whether the sickness is work-related

Those who suffer physical abuse at the workplace should call the Police at 999.

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Those who are not paid their wages in full or in time, are not granted rest days  or whose rights under local laws are violated should approach the Labour Department  by calling 2157 9537, sending a message to www.1823.gov.hk/en or visiting any Labour Relations Division office.

For assistance on sexual violence, domestic violence and/or other family crises, please call the 24-hour hotline of the CEASE Crisis Centre of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals at 18281. Please click here for more information.

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For assistance on unplanned pregnancy, please call the Social Welfare Department Hotline at 2343 2255. Please click here for more information.

For enquiries on the free briefing, please call 3582 8995

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Migrant workers slam DAB legislators’ ‘racist’ remarks on FDHs

 

AMCB held silent online protests across HK against the call by Quat and Ngan

Two legislators from the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong have earned the ire of foreign domestic workers after pressing the call for tighter restrictions on the hiring of overseas help to prevent their alleged job-hopping.

One of them, Elizabeth Quat, was singled out for her “racist” remark about FDWs not matching “their product descriptions.”

The other, Frankie Ngan, was slammed for likening the hiring of FDWs to arranged marriages, where “it’s just the luck of the draw, no guarantee.”

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Their remarks, along with several other statements that put the blame for early termination on workers, were made during a Legislative Council session last Wednesday.

Members of the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body quickly lambasted the two, calling their statements “shameless and repulsive.”

“Such a primitive mindset is highly condemnable and unacceptable in these modern times, said AMCB chair Dolores Balladares in a statement.

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She said Quat should be ashamed of herself for what she had said.

“We are workers and human beings, not products or commodities that are consumable and ..disposable,” Balladares added.

Nang’s call to halve the 14 days that terminated workers are allowed to stay in Hong Kong was also roundly dismissed by AMCB, which said that even the government’s 14-day policy is considered discriminatory by the United Nations and global human rights organizations.

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Apart from curtailing the stay of FDWs who have lost their jobs, the DAB lawmaker also wants a permanent ban on all those who leave their employers prematurely as he believes they just want to move to employers who can give them an easier time .

Ngan also called for mandatory medical checks on all FDWs who arrive in Hong Kong, saying there had been instances where the worker was found to have stage 3 to 4 cancer or was pregnant.

Employers of such helpers should be able to cut them off without paying anything, he said.

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The lawmakers’ call for tightening the screws on FDWs was just a follow-up to DAB’s controversial list of proposals unveiled in September last year that called for harsh penalties for terminated workers.

The group called for employers to be compensated, even if they were the ones who terminated the contract with their helpers. They also want a two-year ban on all FDWs who have gone home without finishing their contract.

In a motion he proposed to fellow legislators, Ngan also urged the government enact rules that will limit the amount of money that a FDW can borrow to no more than twice her monthly salary, for each year of her stay.

He said excessive borrowings by domestic helpers often lead to problems for their employers and their families.

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Secretary for Labour Chris Sun who was also at the Legco meeting, said job-hopping became prevalent during the time of the pandemic, when repeated travel bans and other restrictions forced Immigration to relax its policies towards FDWs.

But the authorities are now back to cracking down on job hoppers, he said, with 2,833 visa applications from FDWs suspected of engaging in the practice being turned down in 2021.

This, he said, was nine times more than what was recorded in 2020.

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Philippine culture showcased in HK Flower Show

 

Tinikling Group in one of their previous presentations.

Philippine culture will return to center stage in the Hong Kong Flower Show, a yearly event organized by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay, which will be held on March 10 to 19.

On permanent display during the 10-day event will be the Philippine pavilion, with a theme that recreates the Pahiyas Festival, a thanksgiving by the farmers of Lucban, Quezon, for their bountiful harvest.

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The pavilion, mounted by the Consulate as its first major project for the year, is expected to display unique Philippine plants, along with other agricultural products and laced with the colorful pahiyas decorations.

In addition, a group of OFWs will also be on the main stage to present 10 native dances in a 30-minute choreography that will include the challenging and crowd-pleasing “Blindfolded Tinikling”, at 10:30 am on March 12.

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This participation by OFW volunteers is a result of efforts by Marie Velarde, president of Tinikling Group since 2007 and vice president of administration of Philippine Alliance HK, to bring back the Filipino dancers after the previous organizer stopped participating in the Flower Show.

 “In 2017, I contacted the LCSD via email asking them to include the Philippines again in the cultural show. (I received) no response from them until 2018, when they called me and asked if we could perform in the HK Flower Show for 2019,” Velarde said.

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That presentation was not in the main stage but in the Central Lawn area on the opposite side of Victoria Park. “I never lost hope that we would get to perform on the main stage. They called me last January that they had a change of plans and moved us there,” she added.

An added bonus is that Tinikling Group Of Migrants HK, which Velarde heads, will receive an appreciation award for being a cultural organiser of the Flower Show.

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Aside from the Tinikling Group, the other participants in the Philippine presentation are the Migrant Ilonggo Cultural Dance Troupe, Global Alliance HK,  Ilagan City Migrants Alliance HK and Star Pinoy HK, all of which supplied costumes to their own dancers.

For this year, the Hong Kong Flower Show will have hydrangea as the theme flower and "Bliss in Bloom" as the main theme.

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One of its features is the plant exhibit competition, which will be divided into 15 categories, including orchid, Chinese cymbidium, potted plant, cactus and succulent, foliage and carnivorous plant, African violet, bonsai-type plant, floral arrangement in Western style and Oriental style, floral art by school children, primary and secondary school potted plant growing/nursing, and the school garden plot competition.

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Iparehistro na ang inyong SIM card!

 

May 25 na MTR station kung saan maaring magpatulong magrehistro ng SIM card

Nagpaalala ang gobyerno na ipalista na ang tunay na pangalan ng bawat gumagamit ng mga SIM card dahil hindi na magagamit ang mga ito pagkatapos ng Huwebes, Feb. 23.

Maari ding mailipat na sa iba ang numero, at kung ano mang halaga ang natitira sa load ay hindi na mababawi.

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Magdudulot din ito ng malaking abala kung ang numero sa SIM card ang nakalista na contact number mo sa bangko, sangay ng gobyerno na maaring tumawag sa iyo katulad ng Immigration Department o Hospital Authority. Kakailanganin mo silang lahat tawagan o sabihan ng bago mong numero sakaling mawala sa iyo ang dati dahil hindi mo naparehistro.

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Ang sapilitang pagpapalista ng pangalan ng gumagamit sa bawat SIM card ay alinsunod sa patakaran na pinapapatupad na ngayon sa iba-ibang bansa, kabilang ang Pilipinas.

Layon nito ang mapatigil sa paggamit ng hindi rehistradong numero ang mga manloloko at masasamang loob.

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Ang pinakamadaling paraan para ito magawa ay sa pamamagitan ng mobile app o website ng kumpanyang nagbigay ng inyong SIM card. Maari din ninyong bisitahin ng personal ang kanilang mga tindahan kung mas madali para sa inyo ito.

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May 25 istasyon din ng MTR at 18 opisina ng HK Post Office kung saan maaari ding magpatulong para marehistro ang inyong SIM card.

Dalhin lang ang inyong HKID card, SIM card na ipaparehistro at isang mobile phone na maaring makatanggap ng mensahe para makumpleto ang inyong pagpaparehistro.

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Kung gusto namang gawin ito online ay kailangan lang ipasa ang litrato ng inyong HKID card. Ulit-ulitin lang kung hindi pumasok sa website dahil malamang na hindi malinaw ang litrato kaya hindi mabasa nang maigi ang mga detalye sa card.

Magbubukas ng hanggang 7pm ang mga booth sa MTR at sa post office sa Feb 22 at 23 para sa mga maghahabol na magparehistro.

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Maaring magparehistro ng hanggang 10 numero ang isang tao sa bawat kumpanya ng telepono.

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Money laundering cases are surging, say police

 

Police show materials they use to warn public against fraud and money laundering

With barely two months into the new year, the number of people arrested on suspicion of money laundering is already more than half of the total last year, said the police.

Officers who held a press briefing Friday said more than 1,1150 people were arrested for this offence in 2022. Since the start of the year, more than 630 people have already been detained on suspicion of laundering a whopping $7.8 billion.

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The big jump in the number of arrests is being attributed to the rise in fraud cases during the pandemic. People behind the scams needed to hide the illicit money they obtained.

Chief Inspector Tse Tsz-fung said online sales fraud is one of the major areas of concern.

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“This is one of the very typical type, where we have a deception case. You have the money, the crime proceed(s), the deceived money going into a bank account of an unknown person,” he said.

The end result is that the police catch the person who is the account holder, but has no idea about the deception that was committed, said Tse.

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“All he knows is ‘I sold my account’, or ‘I lent it to my friend’, which is quite an unacceptable and unreasonable excuse we are seeing.”

He said the police have been at pains to tell the public no one should sell or lend their bank accounts to anyone because chances are, they will be used for money laundering. And if that happens, they will be equally liable as the people who laundered money through their accounts.

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At the same time, they are trying to speed up the prosecution of those who get involved, wittingly or unwittingly, in the laundering trade.

Job vacancies for ethnic minorities featured in job fair

 

Venue of the job fair. (Google Maps photo)

Job-seekers who are ethnic minorities, such as Filipinos, will have a job fair organized by the Labour Department (LD) to benefit them.

The Inclusive Job Fair for Ethnic Minorities will be held on February 23 at the Kowloon East Job Centre at 1/F, Trade and Industry Tower, 3 Concorde Road, Kowloon (Exit B, MTR Kai Tak Station).

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Admission is free. Job seekers can submit job applications during the event and may be selected for on-the-spot interviews.

Awaiting jobseekers will be hotel, transport and catering industries which offer over 400 vacancies.

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Among the positions offered are hotel room attendant, waiter/waitress, cook, driver, skilled assistant, bus captain, bus vehicle inspector, branch manager/manageress, shop assistant, etc.

The LD organizes thematic job fairs from time to time to assist minorities in finding employment.

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“The Policy Address delivered (by Chief Executive John Lee) last year clearly pointed out that the Government will further enhance employment support for EM,” thed LD said.

“The LD will, starting from the first half of 2023, recruit more EM members as full-time Employment Assistants and General Assistants to assist in providing employment services and general office support,” it added.

 

LD is now accepting applications for these positions. Details of the recruitment exercise have been uploaded to the Civil Service Bureau's website at www.csb.gov.hk, as well as the LD's iES website and mobile application.

The recruitment advertisements have also been published in local newspapers and placed in Support Service Centers for Ethnic Minorities run by non-governmental organizations commissioned by the Home Affairs Department.

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Interested job seekers are welcome to apply.

For more information, job seekers may visit the LD's Interactive Employment Service (iES) website (www.jobs.gov.hk) and mobile application.

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Meanwhile, LD also reminded the public to be vigilant against employment fraud

“Recently, there have been reports of Hong Kong citizens being lured online by crime syndicates with lucrative job offers in Southeast Asian countries and have then lost contact with their families or being detained after arrival,” it said.

“The Labour Department reminds job seekers to stay alert and vigilant when seeking jobs. It is crucial for all job seekers to understand thoroughly the background of the prospective employer as well as the job nature before accepting any job offer, and beware of online frauds and jobs that offer unreasonably high salaries, so as to avoid financial loss or jeopardizing your personal safety,” it added.

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