Employer can’t dismiss helper based on parent’s medical record, says EOC

By The SUN

 

The DDO  prohibits discrimination on the basis of a person's disability or that of her 'associates'

The Equal Opportunities Commission says dismissing foreign domestic workers based on their parents’ medical history could be discriminatory.

This formed the basis for legal proceedings to be initiated by the EOC at the District Court on Nov. 1, on behalf of a FDW who claimed to have been dismissed by her employers after learning that her parents both died of stroke in their fifties.

The claimant said that, by terminating her employment, her former employer  discriminated against her on the ground of the disabilities of her associates (i.e. her deceased parents), a violation of the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (DDO).

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According to the claimant, she experienced high blood pressure, dizziness and slurred speech after her employer made her do heavy renovation work. While she was in hospital, her employer asked her about her family medical history, and she mentioned about her parents’ death because of stroke.

On the night she was discharged from the hospital, the employer terminated her employment with immediate effect. The termination letter stated that she was dismissed because of her deceased parents’ medical history.

Citing the DDO, the EOC said it is unlawful for a person to discriminate against another another “by treating him or her less favorably on the ground of the disability of the latter’s ‘associate’, which could include a spouse, another person living in the same flat, or a relative.

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“It is not uncommon that foreign domestic workers become subject to discriminatory treatment after falling ill. By taking this case to the court, the EOC hopes to raise public awareness of unlawful disability discrimination in the workplace and educate employers that reasonable accommodation should be provided for employees with disabilities,” said the EOC.

To file a complaint with the EOC or seek its help in filing a claim, call the EOC enquiry hotline at 2511 8211 or e-mail the EOC at complaint@eoc.org.hk . You may lodge your complaint through the EOC's on-line complaint form, by fax at 2106 2324, by post, or in person at 16/F., 41 Heung Yip Road,Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong.

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After a complaint is received, the EOC will first investigate and decide if it’s based on substantial grounds. If there are none, the complaint will be dismissed. But if substantial grounds are present, the EOC may proceed to conciliation or decide to start legal proceedings as in this case.

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Scammer daw

Humingi ng tulong kamakailan ang isang Pinay dahil kinuhanan daw siya ng litrato sa daan ng isang kakilala at ipinasa sa mga pinagkakautangan niya.

Ang ginawa ng mga inutangan niya ay nilagay sa Facebook ang kanyang litrato at nilagyan ng caption na “missing,” “scammer,” “liar,” at kung ano-ano pa.

Sinabi pa nila na ipapa-deport siya sakaling malaman nila kung saan siya nagtatago, o ipa-Tulfo para mabunyag ang kanyang ginawa.

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“Ang akala po kasi nila ay hindi na ako magbabayad,” ang sabi ng humingi ng tulong.

Ang totoo daw ay na-scam siya kaya ang lahat ng inutang niya mula sa kanyang mga kamag-anak at dalawang kaibigan ay napunta din sa wala.

Sa katunayan nang kuhanan siya ng litrato ay tumatawid siya sa kalsada galing sa Philippine Overseas Labor Office sa Wanchai para isumbong ang ginawang panloloko sa kanya.

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Itinuro daw siya ng mga taga Polo sa assistance to nationals section ng Konsulado para doon humingi ng tulong. Ang payo naman daw sa kanya sa ATN ay iwasan muna ang mag FB para maiwasan ang ma stress sa paniningil ng mga pinagkakautangan niya.

Ang nangyari ay inakala naman ng mga ito na nagtatago na siya.

Ayon sa post ng mga ito, parang wala siyang problema sa litrato, gayong ang totoo ay stressed na stressed na siya talaga.

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Balak naman daw niyang magbayad kaya lang ay pakaunti-kaunti lang ang kaya niyang ibalik dahil sa dami ng kanyang utang. Sa tanong niya kung puwede niyang kasuhan ang kumuha ng kanyang litrato ang sagot ay hindi.

Sa pampublikong lugar daw kasi siya nakunan ng litrato, at hindi naman ang kumuha ang nag post ng masasamang salita laban sa kanya, kundi ang mga taong tinataguan niya ng dahil sa utang.

Pinayuhan din siya na mag-focus na lang sa pagbabayad ng kanyang mga utang dahil iyon ang dapat.

Mag-iingat din daw siya sa susunod para hindi ma-scam ulit.

Panghuli, huwag ipapangutang ang perang gustong i-negosyo dahil kung hindi ito magtagumpay o ma-scam siya katulad ng nangyari, malaking problema ang kakaharapin niya. – DCLM

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Filipina charged with theft while on bail for similar offense

The accused allegedly took cosmetics from this Sasa shop in Causeway Bay

A 45-year-old Filipina resident of Hong Kong has been refused bail in Eastern Court for allegedly stealing cosmetics products at two perfume shops in Causeway Bay while being on bail for a previous theft charge in the same court.

Sheryl Coronel, jobless and with no permanent address, was ordered held in custody by Magistrate Bina Chainrai as she adjourned the case for six weeks.

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Chainrai rejected a $1,000 bail offer by the defendant, saying she might abscond or re-offend if given temporary liberty due to her previous case and past criminal record.

The first charge said Coronel went on Nov 6 to a SaSa Shop on the first floor of Windsor House at 311 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, and stole a box of foundations.

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In the second charge, the defendant allegedly went to another Sa Sa Shop on Yee Wo St, Causeway Bay, on the same day and stole three bottles of Ricqles Peppermint Cure, one set of Shisheido cream and one set of Lancome cream.

The prosecution said she was intercepted by store staff as she left the shop and the stolen items were found in her bag. CCTV footage from the shop allegedly showed her taking the goods.

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The prosecutor asked for adjournment while the police conduct further investigations.

Coronel reportedly came to Hong Kong in 1995 and married a Hong Kong resident but was childless.

On Oct 22, she appeared before Chainrai on a separate theft charge and was granted bail, the prosecutor said. That case will be heard again on Dec 3. – Vir B. Lumicao

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Karahasan

Nakapanlulumong panoorin sa TV ang mga karahasang nangyayari sa paligid natin. Parang wala nang katuturan ang walang habas na paninira ngayon. Hindi na ito upang gumawa ng punto, hindi na upang magbigay ng mensahe, hindi na upang magpakita ng mas magandang argumento upang makamit ang pagbabago.

Ano ba naman, halimbawa, ang magandang  idudulot ng pagwasak sa mga kagamitan at pagsunog sa mga istasyon ng MTR? Ang mga nanira rin ang walang masakyan kinabukasan, at nadamay pa ang karamihan.

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At ngayon, ang buong ekonomiya ay nasasaktan. Pinangangambahan ang pagdating ng recession, o ang pag-atras ng ekonomiya. Isa sa nga dahilan nito ay bumagsak ang numero ng mga turista, na nagbibigay ng trabaho sa maraming tao. Humina rin ang negosyo ng mga bangko, na isa sa pinaka-malaking pwersa ng  ekonomiya, at real estate.

Hindi naman ganito ka-grabe noong nagsisimula pa lamang ang protesta laban sa isang panukala sa Legislative Council na payagan ang mga bansang walang extradition treaty sa Hong Kong na kunin din ang kanilang mga kriminal na nagtatago dito. Ayon kasi  sa mga lider ng protesta, pwede itong gamitin ng China upang kunin din hindi lang ang mga kriminal kundi iyong mga negrerebelde laban sa komunista nitong palakad.

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Hindi ba umabot pa sa dalawang milyon ang nag-martsa mula sa Victoria Park hanggang sa Central Government Offices? Ito ay noong iisa pa lamang ang kahilingan ng mga protesta.

Nagsimula ang karahasan nang magpaputok ng tear gas ang mga pulis sa mga sumunod na protesta. At lumala ito nang paghahampasin ng yantok at tubo ang mga nagprotesta at ordinaryong tao sa isang MTR station, at inakusahan ang pulisya na kakutasaba dito.

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Ngayon ay hindi na lang iisa ang demand ng mga nagpo-protesta, kundi lima, kasama na ang imbestigasyon sa karahasan ng pulisya at eleksyon ng lahat ng mamumuno sa Hong Kong.

Pinalampas ng mga opisyal ang pagkakataong i-resolba ang iisang kahilingan noon ng mamamayan. Makinig na sana sila sa mga hinaing na dapat ay naaksyunan noon pa, at tapusin na ang lumalalang gulo. Dahil lahat tayo ay damay dito.

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Filipina mother and 2 kids lose appeal against deportation

By The SUN

The appeals court said the Philippines can protect the appellants and provide them needed services

A former Filipina domestic helper seeking asylum in Hong Kong, together with her two minor sons, have lost their appeal against a decision denying them the right to challenge Immigration’s decision to send them home to the Philippines.

In the decision handed down on Oct 30, the Court of Appeal upheld a lower court’s decision denying Melody Piedad Mangoba and her two Hong Kong-born sons Kobe and Kyler Galang, the right to question their deportation.

The CA, through Justice Maria Yuen and Judges Lisa Wong ang ST Poon, ruled that Court of First Instance Judge Amanda Woodcock did not err in finding that the Torture Claims Adjudication Board and Immigration had fully considered the grounds cited by the appellants.

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Mangoba, who is married with two children in the Philippines, arrived in Hong Kong in 1997 to work as a domestic helper. Shortly after, she began a relationship with JG, a fellow Filipino domestic helper. When her husband found out about this, he assaulted her. They separated in 2001.

In 2004 Mangoba’s employment contract was terminated but she did not return to the Philippines. The next year, she gave birth to Kobe from her relationship with JG. She had another son by him, Kyler, in 2012.

Mangoba had initially claimed she did not want to be sent back to the Philippines because she feared the wrath of her estranged husband, who she said used to be a member of the New People’s Army and had been violent towards her. The man had also allegedly threatened her parents.

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In addition, Mangoba said Kobe was suffering from autism and Kyler from heart problems. Both were being looked after under Hong Kong’s education and health care systems.

In 2011 she filed a torture claim for herself and Kobe which the Immigration Director rejected on Jul 14 that same year. She appealed, but it was rejected the next month.

On July 5, 2017, or five years after Kyler was born, she and her two sons filed a claim for non-refoulement, or against being sent home.

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Taking note of their claim, Immigration representatives interviewed Mangoba, who was assisted by counsel. But after the interviews, the Director concluded that mother and sons failed to make out a case for non-refoulement.

In his decision issued on Aug 8, 2017, the Director found no basis for Kyler’s claim for risk of persecution or torture. Mangoba’s and Kobe’s claims were already rejected in the earlier decision by the Director issued on Aug 29, 2011.

The three then went to the Torture Claims Adjudication Board (TCAB) to appeal the Director’s decision.

But after re-assessing the claims and making its own inquiry into the availability of services in the country of origin (the Philippines) the TCAB also rejected the applications.

While the TCAB accepted that Mangoba’s husband posed a real threat to her and her sons, it found out that the Philippines does provide state protection in cases of domestic violence.

The Board also pointed out that the appellants could always relocate to other areas in the Philippines, away from the reach of Mangoba’s husband. The TCAB did not accept that the husband could use NPA resources to hunt them down.

Further, the TCAB found out that Kobe and Kyler could have the educational and medical services they needed in the Philippines.

“As a result the TCAB did not accept that there was a real risk that the 2 children would suffer serious or significant harm upon their return to the Philippines,” said the judgment.

Failing at this level, the three applied to the High Court for leave to apply for a judicial review of the TCAB’s decision.

But after careful consideration of the TCAB’s decision, Judge Woodcock refused the application.

“A reading of her (adjudicator’s) decision shows that she gave full consideration to the evidence, COI information and provided more than adequate reasons for her findings,” said Judge Woodcock.

“I found no failings on the part of the adjudicator.  I found no errors of law nor any evidence of procedural unfairness.  She did not fail to adhere to a high standard of fairness.  There is no realistic prospect of success and I refuse leave to apply for judicial review.”

Her findings were upheld by the Court of Appeal, which said that the appellants failed to point out any errors in law or any other relevant matters the judge may have failed to consider.

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