Demand for Filipino workers in HK stays

August 26, 2010, 9:44pm

Demand for domestic helpers in Hong Kong will not be affected by Monday’s tragic hostage incident, a recruitment leader said on Thursday.

Society of Hong Kong Accredited Recruiters of the Philippines (SHARP) head Alfredo Palmiery made the statement after a report of a dismissed Filipina migrant worker following the hostage-taking circulated to the public.

Palmiery said their association’s Hong Kong-based counterpart, Hong Kong Manpower Agencies Ltd. reported no cancellation in job orders and contracts for overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in their country.

According to Hong Kong Manpower Agencies Ltd. Chairman General Tony Lau, Filipino household workers are still preferred by the Hong Kong’s government and residents for their faithful and reliable service, and fluency in speaking-English over migrant workers from other countries.

About one-half of the domestic helpers in Hong Kong are composed of Filipinos, while the rest includes Indonesians, Thais, and other nationalities, Palmiery said.

He also clarified that the implementation of the moratorium on the salary hike for migrant domestic helpers was decided by the Hong Kong government long before the event in Manila happened.

However, SHARP and its associate agencies in Hong Kong have advised their workers to maintain their good relations with their employers by expressing their concern on the incident.

Early news reports said many OFWs are anticipating the backlash from the incident and now fear for their job security.

At the moment, the Department of Labor and Employment has not received a report of any dismissed OFW in connection with the hostage incident.
source:mb