Filipino DH population rises after 6-month slide

By Vir B. Lumicao 

OFW numbers rose by more than 2,300 last month alone

After six months of a continuous decline, the number of Filipino domestic helpers in Hong Kong rose by 2,372 as of last month.

Statistics from the Immigration Department show that the Filipino DH population rose to 206,395 by the end of September, up 1.16% percent from 204,023 recorded in August.

An agency union head attributed the turnaround to workers recruited before the pandemic who finally arrived last month, and vacationing helpers who returned after being stranded by emergency measures in the Philippines.

Pindutin para sa detalye!

This was despite the stringent new measures imposed on new arrivals from the country, including the negative test result for Covid-19, and a14-day hotel booking for the mandatory quarantine.

“The [new] arrivals from Manila were those hired before February or even last year,” said Thomas Chan, chairman of the Hong Kong Union of Employment Agencies.

“Perhaps, those on vacation who tried to return to Hong Kong contributed to the increase in arrivals.”

Call us!

But despite the rebound, there were still 13,333 job losses since January, when the coronavirus outbreak began in Hong Kong.

The September data was a reversal of six months of slide that began in February, excluding March, and led to a 5,489 plunge in August due to lockdowns, cancelled flights and Hong Kong’s decision to restrict the entry of FDHs amid infection fears.

Some Hong Kong employers who could not wait for their helpers stranded in the Philippines due to lockdowns reportedly decided against hiring them and replaced them with those already here.

CONTACT US!

Chan said most local employers preferred hiring workers who were already in the city to save them time and money. Immigration has helped push this thinking by allowing even terminated workers to move to new employers without leaving Hong Kong.

Severe lockdown measures in the Philippines also prevented many FDHs from traveling to Manila where all flights to Hong Kong originate.

Chan said his agency partners in Manila reported that transportation between the capital and the provinces had nearly halted, workers lacked money to travel to the city and go for medical checkups, and most agency staff had been cut down to half.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang Kwentong Dream Love

Some of the agencies even had to close down because of lack of funds.

The rise in the number of FDHs was across the board, with Indonesian helpers, the second biggest group, also growing in number. Their population rose by 536 in September, to 157,873.

Foreign Domestic Helpers Population in Hong Kong
At end of Month/Year	Philippines	Indonesia	India	Other nationalities	Total -- all nationalities
Jan-20	219,728	170,898	4,838	4,657	400,121
Feb-20	217,654	171,291	4,857	4,619	398,421
Mar-20	218,002	170,318	4,818	4,594	397,732
Apr-20	215,061	167,747	4,723	4,493	392,024
May-20	212,855	165,377	4,664	4,446	387,342
Jun-20	211,426	164,528		9,052	385,006
Jul-20	209 512	161 762	4 522	4 379	380 175
Aug-20	204 023	157 337	4 360	4 245	369 965
Sep-20	206,395	157,873	4,353	4,248	372,869

Source: Hong Kong Immigration Department

CALL US FOR MORE DETAILS

PRESS FOR MORE DETAILS

Call us!

PADALA NA!

CALL US!

Filipina in quarantine one of 8 new Covid-19 cases

By The SUN

The Filipina DH tested negative for the virus at the airport

A Filipina domestic helper who arrived on Oct 10 and was found to have the coronavirus on her second test, was among the eight new Covid-19 cases reported today by the Department of Health.

According to an information officer at DH, the 33-year-old Filipina flew in via Philippine Airlines Flight PR 300. She did not have any symptoms, but was found positive for the virus when tested while in quarantine at Mini Hotel in Causeway Bay two days ago.

CONTACT US!

Tunghayan ang isa na namang Kwentong Dream Love

She was one of seven imported cases reported today. The lone local patient is a 66-year-old resident of Home of Treasure in Kwai Chung, a facility for disabled people, where 20 confirmed cases have now been recorded.

The six other imported cases included three returnees from Belgium, and one each from the United States, Ethiopia, and India.

Pindutin para sa detalye!

Call us!

They brought the total tally of infections in Hong Kong to 5,269. Of these, 116 remain in hospital, including 12 who are in critical condition, five who are seriously ill, and 99 in stable condition.

Infectious disease expert Ho Pak-leung has noted that the third wave of the outbreak seems to be easing with only a single-digit increase most days recently.

But he warned against complacency, saying there are still cases with unknown sources. He again said infections could surge anew when the weather becomes cold and dry.

CALL US FOR MORE DETAILS

PRESS FOR MORE DETAILS

 

15,600 more people lose jobs as HK unemployment nears 16-year high

By The SUN

The unemployment rate is likely to rise with Cathay's move to cut 5,000 jobs

 

Some 15,600 people in Hong Kong lost their jobs in the third quarter of this year, as the unemployment rate rose to a nearly 16-year high of 6.4% due to the continuing impact of the pandemic on the local economy.

Data released by the government on Oct 20 showed the unemployment rate growing by 0.3 percentage point from July to September, compared with the previous quarter.

The jobless rate is expected to rise even more by the next quarter, after Cathay Pacific announced today, Oct 21, that it would cut the jobs of more than 5,000 staff in Hong Kong, including about 2,000 cabin crew, many of whom are Filipinos.

Pindutin para sa detalye!

According to officers of Cathay’s Flight Attendants Union, those who were sacked will get an extra month’s pay and will be compensated for the unpaid leave they were forced to take earlier. The company will also not charge their MPF for their severance pay.

The union said the redundancy package was “not overly generous,” and feared more jobs would be cut because of the continuing decline in the economy brought on by the pandemic.

Lawmakers immediately expressed over the mass layoff at Cathay, saying the government must take steps to minimize the impact of the job cuts.

Lawmakers fear the Cathay job cuts would make other big companies to follow suit

Civic Party legislator Jeremy Tan that as the government had already injected $30 billion to bail Cathay out earlier this year, it should ask the company to do its best to retain staff.

Call us!

Federation of Trade Unions lawmaker Alice Mak said, on the other hand, that it is time for the government to give unemployment subsidies to help those affected.

She also feared the mass layoff would further push up the city’s unemployment rate by another 0.2 percent.

Starry Lee, chairwoman of the pro-establishment party Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, said the job cuts at Cathay could lead other big companies to make a similar move.

CONTACT US!

"I am very much afraid that Cathay Pacific’s plan is just the beginning and other large-scale companies will follow suit,” said Lee.

Total employment decreased by about 15,600 from 3,640,400 in June-August to 3,624,800 in July-September.

The impact of the job losses reverberated in the ranks of foreign domestic helpers, thousands of whom were laid off by employers who also lost their employment.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang Kwentong Dream Love

In June-August alone, nearly 9,000 Filipino domestic helpers lost their jobs, with many employers citing job loss as the reason for terminating contracts. From January this year, the drop has been more than 15,000.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong said the labor market deteriorated as a whole during the past quarter amid the third wave of the local epidemic, particularly in July and August.

However, he said, there were signs the pressure faced by the labor market stabilized towards the end of the quarter with support from the Employment Support Scheme, which helped beleaguered companies pay the salary of their workers.

The unemployment rate increased across almost all the major economic sectors, with more distinct increases in the retail, accommodation and food services sector; and arts, entertainment and recreation sector.

Underemployment decreases were mainly seen in the transportation and education sectors, while increases were mainly seen in the food and beverage service activities, and arts, entertainment and recreation sectors.

“As the overall economic situation remains weak and the global pandemic is still evolving, the labor market will remain under pressure in the near term…The government will continue to monitor the situation closely,” Law said.

CALL US FOR MORE DETAILS

PRESS FOR MORE DETAILS

 

 

Dismissed maid jailed 4 months for $26,000 loan fraud

By Vir B. Lumicao 

The 2 cases were heard today at Eastern Court

A Filipina domestic helper has been sent to jail for four months for taking out a $26,000 loan without telling the lender she was fired the day before.

G. Camayang, 40, pleaded guilty to the charge today, Oct 20, at Eastern Court.

Magistrate Bina Chainrai said she could give no further discount after cutting Camayang’s sentence by one-third due to her guilty plea.

Pindutin para sa detalye!

The magistrate pointed out that Camayang knew her work contract was no longer valid since she was fired a day before she applied for the loan at a Prime Credit branch in Admiralty on Mar 23, 2019.

The defendant, a mother of five children of whom the youngest was aged 4 and the eldest was 14, was arrested by police on Feb 23 this year while she was already working for a new employer, her third, the prosecution said.

Call us!

By then, she had already defaulted on the $26,000 loan that she got, and was supposed to repay at $2,303 monthly installments. She paid just once and left $25,346 unpaid.

After the money lender learned that Camayang had been fired her the case was reported to the police.

After her arrest, the Filipina helper made two more payments to the Prime Credit account in May and July this year and kept the receipts, said her lawyer.

CONTACT US!

Camayang was able to find an employer shortly after losing her job, but she was also dismissed in September 2019. She was then hired by another employer but was fired just last month because of this case.

The defendant wiped off her tears as her lawyer explained her difficult situation since she was dismissed by her employer.

Meanwhile, a Filipino male helper was sentenced today in Eastern Court to a total of 9 months in jail for possession of dangerous drugs in February and for stealing a $3,100 bicycle on Lamma Island on June 30.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang Kwentong Dream Love

J. Fernandez, 36, pleaded guilty to two counts of drug possession and one count of theft in Eastern Court on Oct 6. He was sentenced by Magistrate Chainrai to 8 month in jail for the first drug charge and two weeks for the second, to run concurrently.

He was jailed one month for stealing the bike, to be served after the drug sentence.

The defendant, who performed gardening work, was arrested on the night of Feb 11 by a police patrol at Central Pier 4 after he acted suspiciously and tried to evade them.

The officers found 2 small plastic bags containing 6.48 grams of methamphetamine powder under the waistband of his underpants. The next morning, they found 0.23g of cannabis resin wrapped in a tissue also in his underpants.

While on out bail, Fernandez stole a red bicycle parked on a roadside in Yung Shue Long Village, Lamma, on the night of Jun 30 and repainted it silver. The owner’s wife was able to trace the bike on Jul 2 and reported to police. The defendant was arrested on July 4.

CALL US FOR MORE DETAILS

PRESS FOR MORE DETAILS

Curbs on public gatherings retained, as 5 new Covid-19 cases reported

 By The SUN 

No more than 4 people can gather in public still, but tour groups can have up to 30 members

The ban on more than four people eating and talking together in public has been extended for another week by health officials.

But travel agencies will be allowed to book tour groups of no more than 30 people starting this Friday, Oct 23. Up to 50 people can also gather for a wedding, but they must not eat or drink together.

The new measures were announced today, Oct 20,  by Food and Health Secretary Dr Sophia Chan, as five new coronavirus cases, including one local infection with no known source, were reported.

Pindutin para sa detalye!

Hong Kong’s total cases are now 5,262 with 105 deaths.

Of the 127 infected patients who remain in hospital, 12 are in critical condition, five are serious, and 110 are in stable condition.

According to Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre for Health Protection, the lone untraceable case is a 32-year-old female clerk who tested positive after leaving a sample at the Yau Ma Tei Testing Centre on Oct 18.

Call us!

Five or six of her family members who live with her at Grand Promenade in Sai Wan Ho will have to be tested and put in isolation. Some of her colleagues and about 100 employees who were on the same floor as her office will also be tested.

The four other cases were all imported. Three were returnees from India, Britain and France, while the fourth was a cargo plane pilot from Russia.

Chan and Yau announce the new measures (RTHK photo)

For the local tours, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Edward Yau, said agents will be required to list down the personal details of each tour member, check their temperature, and ensure they wear masks all the time.

 

CONTACT US!

Yau said agents who breach the rules could lose their license.

He dismissed suggestions this step would encourage more people to gather in pubic, saying many people are already out and about as the local outbreak eases.

But existing restrictions such as limited seating in bars and restaurants will continue.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang Kwentong Dream Love

Dr Chan explained, "We still don't want to see crowds gathering... but the risks involving tour groups are manageable as the exemptions come with conditions.”

CALL US FOR MORE DETAILS

PRESS FOR MORE DETAILS

Call-up for HKID replacements next month for those born ‘70-‘72

 By The SUN

Smart ID card replacement is done in phases, according to years of birth

The Immigration Department has announced that Hong Kong residents born in 1970, 1971 or 1972 should apply for new smart identity cards between Nov. 2 this year to Apr 30, 2021.

Currently, those born in 1962 or 1963 should have their HKID cards replaced if they haven’t done so yet. The last day for their call-up period is Jan 30, 2021. Those who have not yet applied for a new smart identity card should do so as early as possible.

Pindutin para sa detalye!

All applicants must go to a Smart Identity Card Replacement Centre during their call-up period after making an appointment via www.gov.hk/newicbooking, or the 24-hour hotline, 2121 1234. The replacement centers are open Monday to Saturday, from 8am to 10pm (except public holidays). The complete list of the centers can be found here: https://gia.info.gov.hk/general/202010/19/P2020101900495_351973_1_1603090484610.pdf

To download the mobile application or to make an appointment booking via the Internet, please scan the QR codes here:  https://gia.info.gov.hk/general/202010/19/P2020101900495_351974_1_1603090484616.pdf

Call us!

Applicants are requested to fill up the application form before going for their appointments to enjoy faster service. They should also bring their old HKID card.

If eligible Hong Kong residents are absent from Hong Kong during their call-up period, they can apply within 30 days of their return to Hong Kong.  

CONTACT US!

The territory-wide ID card replacement exercise covers all Hong Kong residents, whether they are permanent residents or non-permanent residents taking up employment, investment, residence or study in Hong Kong.
  
A caring arrangement is being implemented under this scheme, in which each eligible applicant for identity card replacement may bring along up to two persons with disabilities, in addition to two family members or friends aged 65 or above, to replace their ID cards together.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang Kwentong Dream Love

The details of the scheme can be accessed through the website www.smartid.gov.hk or call the enquiry hotline 2824 6111.

CALL US FOR MORE DETAILS

PRESS FOR MORE DETAILS

 

 

Employer raises funds, gets travel escorts for comatose OFW

By Daisy CL Mandap 

Candy with her 3 kids who rely on her for support (from gofundme post)

A Hong Kong employer has turned to social media to appeal for help in looking for travel escorts for her Filipina domestic worker who is comatose in hospital after suffering a stroke, but whose family wants her back home in the Philippines.

Just days after Lewin Li posted the appeal on a Facebook site, two Filipina domestic workers have reportedly volunteered to accompany the helper, Candy, on her planned flight to Manila on Oct 26, 7pm, via Cathay Pacific.

In reply to an inquiry through messenger today, Oct 19, Li said: “We don’t need (another) one as now. Just waiting for OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration) to confirm their arrangement of the Hong Kong ambulance and Cathay to formally approve our booking.”

Pindutin para sa detalye!

Li began her difficult campaign to get 37-year-old Candy back home to her three young children, shortly after the helper suffered a massive stroke on Aug 24, which left her comatose and fighting for her life at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital.

In a post that accompanied an online funding campaign she set up for Candy on Aug 27 (https://support.gofundme.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=360000288632), Li said the helper’s children wanted to see their mother again.

“Doctors said there is over 50% chance she may be in vegetative state even if she lives,” said Li in her post.  “Her children are desperate to see their mother and hear from her again (she used to FaceTime them every night before bedtime).  We are clinging on to any hope we can find.”

Call us!

Though Candy had worked for her family for just five months, Li said the Filipina had made a tremendous impact on them because of her “big, pure and loving heart.”

Li added, “Our son adores her and misses her tremendously.  He looks for her all the time.  We really wish a miracle can happen to her and her loved ones.”

But getting Candy back home to her children proved to be an almost insurmountable task.

CONTACT US!

With help from Candy’s cousins, Li got in touch with the Philippine Consulate, hoping to get help in transporting her back home. But in an updated post on Oct 13, Li said “the process has been very slow and unclear.”

The Consulate, said Li, believed Cathay would not agree to have Candy on board without any nurse escort.

“Such nurse escort is normally provided by the Ph Consulate but they can no longer do so due to COVID-19 and all medical frontline staff are not allowed to leave the country, and now they’re expecting us to fork out US$70,000 for it. It’s been frustrating, to say the least,” she said in her post.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang Kwentong Dream Love

Undaunted, Li contacted Cathay directly, and learned Candy could be taken on board if there were two able-bodied adults who could fly with her, and sit in the same cabin as her.

Li's heart-rending appeal for travel escorts for Candy

Li wasted no time issuing an appeal to those who could fly home with her sick helper.

In her post, Li described Candy as completely bedridden and required only tube feeding. But because of the short flight to Manila, it was unlikely she would even need to be fed.

With this challenge almost hurdled, Li turned to working on her mission to raise up to US$25,000 to provide for the helper’s future needs, as well as those of her children, aged 14, 11, and 7 years old.

As of this writing, a total of US$23,123 has already been raised through the funding platform.

Li said in her latest post that US$3,100 of the money will be used to buy a piece of land for Candy and her three children, US$6,200 to build them a 300 sq ft house, around US$1,500 in fees (legal, architecture, and transactions), and the rest (<US$10,000) will be used to purchase hospital bed, wheelchair, tube feeding equipment, medicine, and other life support equipment for Candy.

Any money left would be allocated evenly among the three children for their daily needs or education.

So far, Li said money had been withdrawn from the fund to pay for a deposit on the planned house for Candy and her children, even if doctors say it is likely the young mother will remain in coma for the rest of her life.

“Please continue to support Candy and her family,” Li appealed.

CALL US FOR MORE DETAILS

PRESS FOR MORE DETAILS