DOLE belies reports OFWs with COVID-19 fired in Hong Kong

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) belied yesterday that a number of Filipino domestic helpers in Hong Kong had been fired by their employers after testing positive for COVID-19.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello, III, citing the report of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO), said there were no reports of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) getting retrenched.

“So far, there is no report on the termination of OFWs,” Bello said, noting that the POLO only reported that 28 OFWs have tested positive for COVID-19.

Of that number, two are in hospital, five have already recovered and 21 are in isolation, he said. The POLO also reported that none of them were serious COVID-19 cases, he added.

The Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong said the Philippines will “blacklist” employers who terminate the contracts of their of Filipino workers on account of testing positive for COVID-19.

In an interview on ABS-CBN’s TeleRadyo yesterday, Consul General Raly Tejada said the consulate would hold the employers liable if they fire Filipino workers who contracted the disease.

“It is against the laws of Hong Kong,” Tejada said in Filipino in reference to “heartless employers” who, for the reason that one gets sick with COVID-19, fires the person from his/her job. “In short, we will go after them.”

There have been reports that foreign domestic workers were being “abandoned” in the current coronavirus wave sweeping Hong Kong.

Some workers had been fired by their employers after testing positive for COVID-19, forcing them to sleep outdoors while others have been denied treatment at hospitals because they had lost their jobs.

Tejada said the consulate has rescued 10 Filipino workers who were forced to sleep outdoors after supposedly being sacked by their employers for contracting the disease.

“We have rescued all of them and placed them in isolation and medical facilities,” he said in Filipino.

Tejada has been in contact with the Labor Office of Hong Kong about the employers’ responsibility over the treatment of their employees.

Employers found guilty of firing sick workers will face fines and other penalties, he said. But Tejada said the consulate will not stop Filipino workers if they decide to return to their employers.

The Chinese financial hub is currently in the throes of its worst-ever coronavirus outbreak, caused by the Omicron variant, registering thousands of confirmed cases a day as hospitals reach breaking point. – Pia Lee-Brago