Some Hong Kong employers reportedly terminating contracts of OFWs with COVID-19

Some employers in Hong Kong are terminating the contracts of overseas Filipino workers who tested positive for COVID-19, according to a report by GMA News stringer Azon Cañete on Unang Balita on Monday. OFWs whose contracts were terminated thus have no place to go. In an interview on Dobol B TV, Migrante-Hong Kong chairperson Dolores Balladares said hospitals are not accommodating OFWs because their contracts are already terminated. “Ang problema talaga is ‘yung matutuluyan ng mga nate-terminate kasi wala namang designated accommodation 'yung Hong Kong government ngayon para sa terminated workers tsaka 'yung nagpa-positive,” she said. (The problem really is accommodation for terminated OFWs because the Hong Kong government has no designated accommodation now for terminated and infected OFWs.) According to Balladares, it is still a question if the employers will rehire the OFWs once they recover. Balladares said 30 to 40 OFWs have asked assistance from Migrante. According to her, the Philippine Consulate to Hong Kong is hard to contact. In a separate interview on Dobol B TV, Consul General Raly Tejada said the Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong can be readily contacted. "Our numbers are always available,” he said. Tejada said that infected OFWs are not neglected, pointing out that Hong Kong authorities are still coping with the surge of COVID-19 cases. Asked about the termination of infected OFWs, Tejada said only a few employers did this to around three to ten Filipino workers. He noted that this termination is prohibited under employment laws. Terminated workers can file a complaint before the labor tribunal in Hong Kong, he added. Tejada also said employers have the responsibility to ensure the medical treatment of OFWs with COVID-19, according to a report on Unang Balita on Monday. In a separate radio interview, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) head Hans Leo Cacdac said that there are 41 OFWs who tested positive for COVID-19. “Eight of them are in hospital, the rest are in isolation with around 10 are being isolated on their employers' facility. All the rest in isolation facilities,” he said. There is no critical case among OFWs, he added. Out of the 10 terminated OFWs, two will be rehired by their employer, according to Cacdac. Hong Kong has recorded over 15,000 cases of COVID-19 from February 1 to 16, 2022, with hospitals at 90% capacity. —KG/RSJ, GMA News

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