A GROUP of recruiters of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) related that some of their applicants are already wary of pursuing their plans to become household service workers (HSWs) in Hong Kong.
In a press conference Tuesday, the Society of Hong Kong Accredited Recruiters of the Philippines (Sharp) admitted that they are receiving reports of HSW applicants being wary of the fate that awaits them in the Chinese territory.
“Hesitant sila na pumunta kasi sa mga naririnig nila sa media na may mga termination because of the incident,” said Sharp director Julie Cabasa.
But she said the apparent jitters being felt by applicants have yet to manifest in their figures.
Based on the data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), there are a total of 100,142 hired and rehired OFWs in Hong Kong in 2009 alone.
To recall, the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) confirmed the firing of at least one Filipino domestic worker in Hong Kong due to the deadly hostage crisis in Manila.
However, another Sharp Director, Claro Genio, said their members have yet to receive any such reports and are under the impression that Hong Kong employers are mature enough not to connect the incident to all OFWs.
He said Hong Kong remains to be one of the “best” destinations for OFWs seeking household service employment.
“Wala silang dapat ipag-alala dahil very remotely-connected yung reported termination. Walang nananalbahe na employer dahil sa incident. The rally was just to express their sentiments,” said Genio.
In the event that such terminations took place, Sharp officials said they are already preparing measures to help the affected OFWs.
In a separate statement, Sharp President Alfredo Palmiery related that they are already setting up a help desk at the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (Polo) in Hong Kong.
He explained that the desk will accept cases of terminated OFWs and help them find another employment.
“The re-deployment service will be free of charge,” he assured. (AMN/Sunnex)