Migrant workers urge P-Noy to rethink labor export program

HONG KONG – Migrant workers here urged President Aquino to rethink his labor export program to protect Filipinos against “rising xenophobia and social exclusion” in this territory as well as in other migrant-destination countries.

Militant workers’ group United Filipinos in Hong Kong (UNIFIL-HK) scored the Aquino administration for ignoring the “heightening racist and socially discriminatory sentiments in host-countries.”

“Right now, we are in the middle of a potentially explosive social situation in Hong Kong. The Aquino administration should speak up about this and obtain concrete assurances from the Hong Kong government that the basic rights of migrant workers will be protected as the Right of Abode debate unfolds,” UNIFIL-HK chairperson Dolores Balladares said in a statement.

On Monday, the High Court will hear the first of three petitions of four Filipino domestic workers asking for permanent residency. Evangeline Vallejos, Irene Domingo and her husband Daniel, and Josephine Gutierrez, had asked the court to declare them as permanent residents under the Basic Law.

The Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution, states that permanent residents include non-Chinese nationals who have “ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period of not less than seven years and have taken Hong Kong as their place of permanent residence.”

The Filipino domestic workers also asked the court to declare as unconstitutional the Immigration Ordinance that refuses permanent residency rights to domestic helpers.

Under the ordinance, “a person shall not be treated as ordinary resident in Hong Kong while employed as a domestic helper.”

Balladares explained that foreign domestic workers (FDWs) have been the subject of hate online messages calling them cockroaches and telling them to go back to the Philippines. She added that FDWs are being depicted as parasites and the cause of social chaos in Hong Kong.

“The Aquino government has been turning a blind eye to such pitfalls because it is reaping short-term benefits from the policy in terms of remittances, while leaving Filipino migrants to deal with the racial and social tensions that inevitably arise from it,” Balladares said.

The Filipino domestic workers’ bid for permanent residency has been a cause of concern among Hong Kong residents. Several local groups in Hong Kong feared that opening the floodgates to thousands of foreign domestic helpers would gravely affect the city’s welfare resources and local employment.

Joseph Law, chairman of the Hong Kong Employers of Domestic Helpers Association, said the city cannot accommodate an influx of foreign domestic helpers as new residents.

“We do not believe that giving a right of abode of Hong Kong is a proper way to reward them for their hard work. We simply cannot accommodate such an influx of population. We would prefer to see that our workers are being rewarded by a good salary package, protection and other conditions of service,” Law said in an interview.

Lawyers of the Department of Justice earlier said some 100,000 could qualify to become permanent residents should the High Court grant the Filipino domestic helpers’ petition for residency. They said this estimate shoots up to as much as 400,000 people eligible for residency to include the helpers’ families. They added that around 200,000 or half of the population would then seek Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) costing the government at least HK$2 billion (P10.9 billion) a year.

Data from the Hong Kong Immigration Department showed that there are 138,933 Filipino domestic workers who are earning at least HK$3,740 (P20,419). The figure accounts for 47.5 percent of the total foreign domestic helpers (FDH) population of 292,473 as of June. It is estimated that at least one-third of the total FDH population have worked here for more than seven years.

If it loses in the Court of First Instance, the government could apply for a stay of execution, and appeal to the Court of Final Appeal.

The government also holds the administrative option of limiting foreign domestic helpers to three two-year employment contracts to effectively limit their stay here to only six years.

Some civil society groups, meanwhile, criticized local political parties for “distorting facts” to oppose the FDWs’ bid for residency rights.

“We have to respect the basic rights of foreign domestic workers to fight for their rights of abode by legal means. Some political parties and Legislative Council members allege that millions of foreign domestic workers and their families will become Hong Kong permanent residents should the judicial review favor them, and therefore will create financial burden for the Hong Kong society.

We consider that such allegation echoes the discriminative government policies and provokes ethnic disintegration, in which the only result will be a terrified and divided society. These allegations are extremely ridiculous and irresponsible,” the civil society groups said in a press conference.

Secretary for Justice Wong Yan Lung has appealed to the public to respect the Court’s jurisdiction over the residency issue.

“I fully understand the concerns expressed over the case amongst different sectors of the community, and the different views over the possible impact any ruling of the Court may bring. I also fully respect everyone’s right to freely express his or her views. However, as legal proceedings are in progress and the hearing is imminent, I sincerely urge the public, when they are minded to express any view, to show the greatest respect to our Court and our legal system, and to avoid as far as possible making any comments which might prejudice or affect the Court’s adjudication of the case,” Wong said in a statement.

Aside from the residency issue in Hong Kong, UNIFIL-HK said the Norway massacre, Saudization, and recent riots in the United Kingdom are “warning signs that tolerance for labor-exporting has reached saturation point around the globe.”

“You cannot push about large numbers of people from different cultures and nationalities without expecting adverse reactions from entrenched locals,” Balladares said.

UNIFIL-HK noted that the Aquino government should overhaul its development strategy that is anchored on forced labor migration to increase the population of dollar-sending migrant Filipino workers.

“Ending joblessness at home should be the prime social goal of the Philippine government, and this should be done in a far-sighted manner. It can start with the eradication of landlessness and the construction of a comprehensive and locally controlled industrial base in the country. These twin policies are capable of sopping up surplus labor at home and thus eliminating the need to seek gainful employment and livelihood abroad,” Balladares said.