Filipina domestic worker Bernadith Genovia was awarded $33,000 for long service after the Labor Tribunal saw through her employer’s ruse to avoid paying the claim. The employer, Suwina Cheng, insisted she should not pay Genovia for long service as the maid did not work for her for more than five years.
But Presiding Officer Isabella Chu said the Filipina had well-documented evidence to back her claim and would certainly win if the case proceeded to go to trial and would entail more expenses for Cheng.
The dispute centered on Genovia’s claim for a total of $33,095 that included $20,889.98 for more than eight years of service that the helper said she had rendered the employer’s family.
Cheng staunchly rejected the claim, saying she did not renew the maid’s contract after four years. Instead, she said, it was her brother who signed a work contract with the Filipina on her fifth year of working in the same address.
Chu asked the employer why her brother’s address was the same as hers, and the employer replied that when the worker’s contract was signed, her brother was staying in her house while she lived in a dormitory.
Genovia said that despite the change in her contract’s signatory, she worked for the same people. She also said that after a year’s break, Cheng again signed her up for a new contract. Genovia said she worked a total of eight and a half years for the family before Cheng terminated their contract in May for the maid’s allegedly below-standard performance.
While arguing for her case, Cheng said it had been her practice not to hire domestic helpers for more than four years.
But the presiding officer wondered why after her brother’s hiring of the Filipina, Cheng again signed her up. Chu told Cheng it would be better for her to settle the money claim than fight a lost case in court.
Cheng initially insisted she was prepared to go to trial because God knew that she was right and that the Filipina only wanted more of her money.
But Chu said: “If this goes to the court, your case is weak. And it will attract media attention. The media will see the case on the court list and they will all go to court to write about the case.”
The employer thought for a while, and when Chu asked her again if she was willing to settle the entire claim, Cheng nodded reluctantly then said she would be writing a check.
But Chu rejected payment by check and told the employer to find a bank nearby and get cash. She demanded a cash settlement to close the case once and for all. “Unless you want to see her (Genovia’s) face again.”
Cheng left the courthouse and after about half an hour returned with an envelope of cash containing of $33,095. Apart from long service, the payment covered accumulated leave and unused holiday, air ticket, and travel allowance.
