THE Philippine government is eyeing the filing of labor charges against employers in Hong Kong for reportedly firing their Filipino workers after testing positive for coronavirus.
Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said amid another Covid-19 surge in Hong Kong, 76 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have tested positive for the virus. Eight of them were admitted in hospitals, while the others were confined in isolation facilities.
He said there were also reports that some OFWs were made to sleep and stay in public areas, including outside of hospitals, while they wait for their turn to get medical attention for coronavirus infection.
Cacdac said employers who will refuse to rehire the OFWs who tested positive for the virus may face labor charges and will be blacklisted in the Philippines.
“Sa talaan natin ay parang isa lang ang naka-record sa atin na hindi pa makumbinsi na employer, idudulog na natin ito sa Hong Kong labor authority. Under Hong Kong law ay hindi sila dapat i-terminate kasi pwede naman mag-SL (sick leave) o di kaya makabalik after nila mag-recover,” Cacdac said in an interview at Laging Handa public briefing.
(Based on our data, we have recorded one employer who cannot be convinced yet. We will raise this with the Hong Kong labor authority. Under Hong Kong law, they cannot terminate the workers, who can actually go on sick leave or return to work after recovering from Covid-19.)
“Kailangan lang siguro ipaliwanang sa mga Hong Kong employers itong sitwasyon na ito at in fairness, marami naman sa kanila ang nakukumbinsi na tanggapin muli ang ating mga OFWs,” he added.
(This situation needs to be explained to Hong Kong employers, and in fairness, many of them were convinced to rehire the OFWs.)
READ: Hong Kong orders mandatory Covid-19 tests for all residents
Cacdac said the Philippine government is also planning to deploy a medical team in Hong Kong for the benefit of the OFWs.
He assured that the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Hong Kong is catering to and assisting the affected OFWs.
Amid the fifth Covid-19 wave, the Hong Kong government has banned flights from the Philippines until April 20.
There are currently around 220,000 OFWs in Hong Kong, of which 90 percent are domestic helpers. (SunStar Philippines)