PHL's new 'ambassadors of goodwill' in Hong Kong: Pinoy domestic workers

The head of a Philippine association of recruiters said they hope personality development training can help Filipino household service workers (HSWs) to Hong Kong become "ambassadors of goodwill." 

According to a report of Mariz Umali for GMA Network's "24 Oras" newscast, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Society of Hong Kong Accredited Recruiters of the Philippines, Inc. (SHARP) agreed that the new required course will be beneficial to HSWs.



“Gagawin nating ambassadors of goodwill yung ating mga HSWs [na] pinaaalis. [Maganda] kung qualified, well trained and well prepared na [ang] HSW. At ito din ang gamot doon sa problemang kung bakit may na teterminate,” SHARP President Alfredo Palmiery said.

Some applicants bound to Hong Kong reacted positively to the news about the new training course.

“At least maalagaan mo sarili mo. Karamihan doon sa ibang bansa minamaltrato dahil hindi sila marunong sumagot ng tama,” Annabelle Inso said adding “Ngayon kapag nakaundergo ka nang ganoon na training madali lang sayo na makaadjust [sa mga] amo mo.”

“Pag napunta tayo sa ibang bansa kailangan natin maki-adapt sa kanilang lifestyle, sa kanilang culture. Kung ano yung foods nila kailangan natin ma adapt din yun,” Marilina Salvador explained.

Some 25,000 Filipinos are deployed to Hong Kong every year, according to the DOLE.

Higher training fee

Before personality development training was added to the HSWs' employment requirements,
the basic training course only consisted of 210 hours.

The basic traning course included lessons in house chores, usage of modern utilities, caring for adult and children and language and culture training.

With the addition of the personality development and social graces program, the training time will now last up to 380 hours.

Umali reported that the additional training hours will merit an increase in the training fee.

However, if the agency of the applicant is part of the 52 agencies that have signed an agreement with the DOLE, all the expenses will be shouldered by the employer.

“Dapat ang mga employer ang dapat magbayad nang mga gastusin dahil sila ang nangangailangan,” Palmiery said.

Earlier, 50 Philippine recruitment agencies were cited for their commitment to the government's “no placement fee” policy for HSWs to Hong Kong.

“The awarding of certificates is a tribute to the unwavering concern of said agencies in promoting the welfare of Filipino workers, in solid partnership with government, particularly the Department of Labor and Employment and its attached agency, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration,” Palmiery said on Friday last week.

The burden of paying the placement fees, with some reaching up to P80,000, will be shouldered by prospective employees.

SHARP said the commitment of these agencies to the policy will benefit OFWs since there's no need to shell out huge amounts of cash or borrow money from others.

SHARP deploys around 63 percent of all Filipino HSWs in Hong Kong.

Self-imposed moratorium

SHARP earlier undertook a self-imposed moratarium in deploying Filipino HSWs to Hong Kong.

SHARP imposed a ban on the deployment of workers to Hong Kong from from February 27 to March 27 after the Philippine government insisted that no placement fees will be collected from Filipinos aspiring to work as domestic workers in Hong Kong.

According to Palmiery, the moratarium was effective in making their counterparts in Hong Kong consider paying for the proper fees for recruiting HSWs.

There are an estimated 156,600 overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong based on the 2011 Sock Estimate of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas. - Andrei Medina, VVP, GMA News