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Unifil marks 34th year with call on migrants to safeguard rights

Posted on 22 September 2019 No comments

By Vir B. Lumicao

A parade kicked off Unifil's 34th year celebration on Chater Road

Thirty-four years since it was founded, United Filipinos in Hong Kong continues to rally migrant workers to remain solid and continue the struggle for their rights and welfare.

Unifil chairperson Dolores Balladares-Pelaez, addressing about 300 Filipinos who gathered on Chater Road in Central today, Sept. 22, to celebrate her group’s 34^th anniversary, said that despite their victories, many challenges remain.

“Nananatili pa rin ang banta sa atin na tayo ay hindi pa makakauwi sa ating bansang Pilipinas sapagkat nananatili pa rin ang labor export program at pinalalakas pa ito ng kasalukuyang gobyerno sa pamamagitan ng pagtatayo ng Department of OFWs,” Balladares-Pelaez said.

She said the Duterte government continues to be deaf to migrants workers’ gripes.

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“Tatlong taon na ang lumipas subalit marami pa sa karaingan nating mga OFW, mga migrante, and hindi pa naibibigay ng gobyernong ito,” Balladares-Pelaez said.

“Kaya tama po, dapat ay hindi tayo tumigil, dapat ay magpatuloy po tayo sa ating pagiging progresibo, dapat ay magpatuloy tayo sa ating pagiging aktibista dahil kapag ipinakita nating ang ating pagsasama-sama sa pagkilos at pagiging organisado natin, nagkakaroon tayo ng mga kongkretong pakinabang dito sa Hong Kong,” she said.

She said the workers should remain united, whether they are campaigning against anti-migrant worker policies of the Hong Kong government or the Philippine government.

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Pelaez said OFWs should relentlessly fight for issues that will eventually lead to their return to their homeland and be reunited with their loved ones.

“Mangyayari lamang po iyan kung ang ating gobyerno ay magsasagawa ng mga trabaho para sa ating mga Pilipino para po tayo ay hindi na mapilitang lumabas ng bansa,” the Unifil leader said.

She said these would be regular jobs with decent salaries for Filipino workers, land for the farmers, and better social services for the Filipino masses.

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“Pag iyan po ay maisagawa at maibigay sa mamamayang Pilipino, asahan nating hindi na lalaki ang bilang ng ating mga mamamayan na puwersahang nangingibang-bansa para maghanapbuhay nang mabigyan ng magandang kinabukasan ang pamilya,” she said.

Cynthia Abdon-Tellez, manager of the Mission for Migrant Workers, said her group has witnessed the development, progress, and relentless struggle of Unifil for Filipino migrants’ rights and welfare in Hong Kong.

Tellez said that Unifil would not hesitate to act, especially if the workers are victims of exploitation and whose rights are being violated.

“Hindi ninyo makikita iyan na nakaupo lang, sapagkat iyan ay magpapatuloy sa pagkilos,” Abdon-Tellez said.

She said from its original 10 member groups, Unifil membership has more than doubled. She said there were times the number fluctuated as member-groups dissolved as leaders went home, but Unifil has remained strong and kept fighting for migrant workers’ rights.

Parade of flags by Unifil's member-ogranizations

Eman Villanueva, chairman of Bayan Hong Kong and Macau, said the activism and solidarity of Unifil and its member groups have paid off because over the past 34 years they have achieved benefits from the Philippine and Hong Kong governments though their mass actions.

“Hindi biro yung dinaanan na mahigit tatlong dekada na patuloy na pakikibaka at, higit sa lahat, patuloy na paglilingkod sa ating mga OFW ditto sa Hong Kong,” Villanueva said as he explained the Unifil slogan “Proud to be progressive.”

He said being progressive means finding ways and solutions to achieve what is best for the workers, especially in the face of adverse policies.

“Kaya kayo ho, kapag napabilang sa isang tinatawag na progresibong organisasyon, dapat proud tayo…kasi hindi tayo tulad ng sinasabi ng iba na, ‘huwag na kayong magprotesta para sa dagdag-sahod kasi yung sahod, itataas din naman iyan kahit hindi ka magprotesta’,” Villanueva said.

He enumerated the concessions that migrant Filipino workers won through their mass actions, foremost of which was forcing the Consulate to open on Sundays when most domestic workers take their day off.

He also pointed out that the Hong Kong government began legislating annual salary hikes for migrant workers after the Unifil and allied workers groups from other Asian countries fought for them.

The celebrations started with a mass officiated by Father Dwight dela Torre of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente/Philippine Independent Church at 9 am, and followed by a parade and cultural presentations of various groups under Unifil and other allied organizations.

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The Living Wage and the Minimum Allowable Wage

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By Cynthia Tellez

Every year, the Asian Migrants’ Coordinating Body (AMCB) submits to the Labour Department its position and demands during the yearly review of the Minimum Allowable Wage (MAW). Every year, it submits a well-written position paper including the bases for their demands for wage increase. The AMCB is demanding a living wage, basing it on the definition of the International Labour Organization (ILO) of the UN that says:

‘The idea of a living wage is that workers and their families should be able to afford a basic, but decent, life style that is considered acceptable by society at its current level of economic development. Workers and their families should be able to live above the poverty level, and be able to participate in social and cultural life.’

This is the internationally recognized living wage. But what is its relation to the MAW that the Hong Kong government is using in increasing (or decreasing) the monthly wage of migrant domestic workers?

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We have fellow migrant workers who do not fully understand the difference or relation between the Living Wage and the MAW. In fact, some jeer at or insult AMCB during its rallies without really knowing what the issues are. We will try in this article to explain the issue and in so doing discuss wage protection too.

Let us discuss first the Living Wage (LW).

‘Anker’s ILO working paper reviewed more than 60 descriptions of the LW, the characteristics of 86 municipal LW laws in the United States and 99 national minimum wage laws from around the world. He summarised the constitution of a LW into the points below. He says, it:
i. is a right according to the international community;
ii. needs to be sufficient to support a decent standard of living for a specific time and place;
iii. needs to be sufficient for a worker to support a family;
iv. needs to be based on the concept of take-home pay; and
v. needs to be earned during normal working hours and not require employees to work overtime.’

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The living wage is at the core of the AMCB campaign for migrant workers and their families to live a decent and humane life. As described, it is a right. It is the affected sector who directly experience whether their earnings are enough or not. When we say enough, we mean as was defined above: Able to afford basic necessities. If not, then it is your right to voice out your demands that the MAW increase is way below what is called a living wage.

The MAW is not equivalent to the living wage. The computation for an increase or decrease (remember when the wage of the migrant domestic worker was reduced by HK$400) is based on MAW; how the new wage is computed is only known to the concerned department of the HK government.

In the first place, there is no such thing as minimum wage for migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong. Minimum wage is usually legislated or passed in the Legislature as a law. So no one can change it except through legislation. So, the minimum allowable wage is in a flux, depending on the economic situation of Hong Kong. It is not something that is fixed. It can be increased, and it can be decreased.

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The living wage is pegged on the premise that in whatever situation, the wage should be enough for the worker to live a decent life. So wage cannot go down for it is just enough to meet the basic necessities of a family.

I hope that the above explanation has clarified the two issues on wages:
One, that MAW is offered by the Hong Kong government and is not necessarily internationally acceptable as far as standards for wages is concerned.

The other one is the LW which is internationally acceptable and is premised on the actual or basic needs of the worker and his/her family. And this is the core of the issue on wages being fought for by the AMCB.

But while the living wage is continuously being fought for, the current wages of migrant domestic workers must be protected. It is very much below the living wage and yet, is further pushed down by unscrupulous employers through illegal deductions, uncompensated extra work like in the house of relatives and friends, paying for accidentally broken items, etc.
At the moment, once the MAW is stated in the employment contract, your wage is fixed by the contract and it cannot be changed during the contract except at the employer’s decision. If there is a sudden policy increase or decrease on wages, the wage in the contract will prevail.
If the employer is pursuing a deduction for whatever reason, the deduction (assuming it is a legitimate one) should not be more that ¼ of the monthly wage. The wage must be given promptly. It should not be given late, say more than one week from the cut-off date.

The Mission, in some cases, encounter complaints about non-payment of wages as a punishment or underpayment of wages for agency fee “paid in advance” by the employer to the agency. The two examples are violations of the law.

Withholding of wages as a form of punishment is a violation under the protection of wages. Even if the employer went bankrupt, your wage is protected under the insolvency fund. You might be able to get only a maximum of four months’ unpaid wages; nevertheless, you will get your compensation.

Payment to an agency as placement fee is illegal if it is more than 10% of the first month’s salary of the domestic worker. The agency fee, including the processing fee and other expenses incurred related to processing must be shouldered by the employer. The only thing the domestic worker pays for is her/his passport.

If you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to call the Mission For Migrant Workers at 2522-8264.
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This is the monthly column from the Mission for Migrant Workers, an institution that has been serving the needs of migrant workers in Hong Kong for over 31 years. The Mission, headed by its general manager, Cynthia Tellez, assists migrant workers who are in distress, and focuses its efforts on crisis intervention and prevention through migrant empowerment. Mission has its offices at St John’s Cathedral on Garden Road, Central, and may be reached through tel. 2522 8264.
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Bello, di yata sumasabay sa paglaban sa katiwalian

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Ni Vir B. Lumicao

Nang mabigo ang mga bugaw sa Hong Kong na mapapirmahan kay dating Labor Attaché Jalilo dela Torre ang kanilang mga job order para sa mahigit sa 100 bar dancer noong bandang katapusan ng 2017 ay nilakad nila ang pagpapauwi kay Labatt Jolly sa Pilipinas.

Nagsumbong sila kay Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III na mayroong kinikilingan diumano si Dela Torre sa pagbibigay ng akreditasyon sa mga ahensiya ng empleo dito sa Hong Kong. Di nila kinilala ang mga ahensiyang diumano’y kinatigan ni Labatt Jolly.

Kahit walang katibayan ang mga nagbintang ay pinatawag ni Bello sa Maynila si Labatt Jolly upang humarap diumano sa pagsisiyasat.

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Nagkaisang kumilos ang mga manggagawang Pilipino rito sa Hong Kong upang ipaglaban si Labatt Jolly, ang labor attaché ng Pilipinas na mahigpit sa mga abusadong amo at mga tiwali at mapagsamantalang ahensiya.

Ngunit hindi pinakinggan ni Bello ang protesta ng mga OFW. Bagkos, ayon sa mga nakakaalam, nagsagawa diumano sa Philippine Overseas Labor Office ng mga hakbang upang mawala roon ang mga “volunteer” na alam nilang malapit sa suspendidong labatt.

Marahil, isang paraan iyon upang mawala ang mga “mata” si Labatt Jolly at mapagtakpan ang anumang tiwaling gawain na maaaring maganap doon.

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Luminaw ang larawan nang dumalaw si Pangulong Duterte dito noong Abril. Kung sinuman ang nag-ayos sa itinakdang pagkikipagpulong sana ni Duterte sa mga OFW ay matagumpay na na-hijack nila ito.

Nahutok ang programa upang ipakita sa libu-libong manggagawang dumalo sa okasyon na dikit at magiliw kay Bello ang mga ahensiya, pati na ang mga bugaw. Nasa VIP zone sa unahan sila para mapansin ng Pangulo.

Halos anim na buwang nasa Maynila si Labatt Jolly, naghintay ng imbestigasyon.

“Anong imbestigasyon? Wala ngang reklamo, walang ebidensiya, at walang imbestigasyon,” nasabi niya nang pinabalik na siya sa Hong Kong.

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Dahil doon ay akala ng mga OFW ay tapos na ang panunudla ng mga kalaban kay Labatt Jolly, ngunit bago pauwiin nang ganap ni Bello ang opisyal ng POLO noong Hulyo ay lumitaw naman ang isang “poison letter” ng mga hindi nagpakilalang ahensiya upang paratangan ng kaduda-dudang transaksyon ito.

Ayon tuloy, muling iniimbestigahan ang dating labatt sa Maynila dahil umano sa “minadaling” pagbibigay ng kontrata sa pagkakabit ng online system ng POLO sa isang bagong kumpanya, ang Polaris Tools na itinatag ng mga batambatang computer scientist na Pinoy na nagtapos sa Stanford University sa US.

Hangad diumano ng bagong sistema na pabilisin at gawing aninag ang lahat ng mga transaksiyon ng mga ahensiya sa POLO na may kaugnayan sa pagtatrabaho ng mga OFW dito sa Hong Kong.

Dangan kasi, ang lumang sistemang EmployEasy na 13 taon nang ginagamit ng POLO ay inilagay ng isang kumpanyang may sariling ahensiya, ang HelperDB, kaya ito ay may “conflict of interest”.

Ayon kay Labatt Jolly, ang lumang sistema ay ginamit ng mga ahensiya sa pagpuproseso ng mga dokumento ng mga OFW at mga amo nila kaya maaaring nakumpromiso ng sistemang iyon ang mga personal na detalye nila.

Sinabi rin ng dating labatt na wala ni isang kusing na gastos ang POLO sa sistemang iyon. Ikinabit ito ng Polaris gamit ang sariling puhunan at mga kagamitan at babawiin nito ang nagugol sa pamamagitan ng pagsingil sa bawat transaksiyon ng mga ahensiya.

Tila ang ayaw ng mga tiwaling ahensiya sa bagong sistema ay ang iginagawad nitong point system sa bawat matutuklasang tiwaling transaksiyon ng isang ahensiya. Ayon sa paliwananag ng mga nagdisenyo ng sistema, kapag nakakawalong puntos ng paglabag ang isang ahensiya ay kakanselahin ng POLO ang kanyang akreditasyon.

Hindi namin maunawaan kung bakit ang isang sistemang “transparent” na higit na makabubuti para sa mga OFW ay dadaan sa isang imbestigasyon ng DOLE dahil umangal ang isang pangkat ng mga ahensiya na tiyak na malalantad at mahahadlangan ang katiwalian sa sistemang ito.

Kataka-takang sa gitna ng puspusang kampanya diumano ni Pangulong Duterte laban sa katiwalian at kabulukan sa gobyerno ay hahadlangan ni Bello ang isang proyektong may layuning linisin at ayusin ang pagpapadala ng mga OFW dito sa Hong Kong.

Hindi yata sumasabay si Bello sa tugtog ng Pangulo laban sa kurapsyon.
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Victim unconscious during alleged rape, High Court told

Posted on 20 September 2019 No comments

By Vir B. Lumicao

The rape trial at the High Court will end Monday next week

A Chinese-Filipina was in deep sleep due to drunkenness when a Japanese male co-passenger on a minibus allegedly took her to his flat in Kowloon and raped her, a seven-member jury heard at the High Court on Friday, Sept 20.

Details of the alleged sexual attack emerged as defendant, Kaise Hiroki, gave evidence as the sole defense witness.

Hiroki, who is out on bail, denied he raped the drunk 24-year-old woman, identified only as “Miss X,” at dawn on Aug 5 last year in his flat after they got off a red minibus they rode on from Central to Mong Kok.

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Hiroki, speaking through a Nihonggo court interpreter, said his mind was clear and he was aware of his surroundings when he took the woman home. But he insisted they had consensual sex.

“X,” who was the first to give evidence on Sept 16, told the court she had drunk more than she could take between 11pm on Aug 4 and 2am on Aug 5 last year as she celebrated her birthday with three friends.

She said she was very drunk and dizzy when she got off at the minibus terminus in Mong Kok, and when she regained her senses, she found herself weak and naked in a dim room, so she got into her panties and shorts.

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She said the defendant carried her to a taxi, which took her home to Kwai Chung.

The prosecutor asked Hiroki whether “X” was not aware of her surroundings and if she was responding to what was happening around her, including during penetration. The defendant said he did not know.

Defense counsel Oliver Davies reminded Hiroki that when he asked him if what he said in the police video recorded interview was all true, he answered “almost true”.

The defendant said that when he watched the interview on DVD and “I realized there were untrue things that I said but I was already arrested at the time.”

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Judge D’Almada, taking over the questioning, asked the defendant, a university graduate, whether he had the ability to think clearly that night. He replied “yes” but added that “it was not perfect.”

The judge asked him if he knew what he was doing and he replied there were some he could not remember. That led D’Almada to ask if he remembered the foreplays and kissing on the lips he mentioned in the VRI. He said sometimes their mouths were open.

Hiroki also told the court that he couldn’t decide if he should do “it” or not, but “I saw there was agreement. I thought so from her facial reaction and my experience. From all these I saw there was consent,” he insisted at the conclusion of his evidence.

But CCTV footages in the block where Hiroki lives showed the woman looking very weak and unable to walk, so that the defendant had to carry her to a taxi.

Judge D’Almada adjourned the case until Monday, and told the jury to get the pictures that both the prosecution and defense would give them , before deliberating on their verdict the next day.
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