 |
| Nearly 7,000 Filipino DHs have been displaced since Covid-19 struck HK in February |
A total of 2,106 Filipino helpers lost their jobs in Hong
Kong last month, according to the latest Immigration Department data, in line
with a general drop in foreign domestic helper population.
The latest job losses brought the total Filipino DH
population down to 212,855, or a drop of 6,873 since February, when the
coronavirus contagion hit the city.
Indonesian domestic helpers, the second-biggest FDH group in
Hong Kong, saw their ranks in May shrink by 2,370 month-on-month, bringing
their total population down to 165,377.
Despite the significant decrease in the number of FDHs last
month, the figures still did not reflect the actual situation, as many helpers
fired by employers or who broke their contracts could stay up to a month or longer,
in line with an Immigration directive meant to ease the effects of travel
restrictions in many countries.
The job losses in Hong Kong comes as the Philippines’ Department
of Labor and Employment reported that nearly 100,000 OFWs displaced during the
coronavirus crisis are stranded in various sites abroad.
The Dole command center in Manila recorded a total of 98,615
stranded workers as of May 29, based on reports from 40 Philippine labor posts
abroad, including Hong Kong.
Dole said the OFWs are either distressed workers seeking to
be repatriated or those whose work contracts have expired but cannot return to
the Philippines
Of the total stranded OFWs, Dole said 3,082 are in Asian
countries while 83,483 are in the Middle East and 12,050 are in Europe and
America.
'
'
Officers of the Overseas Workers welfare Administration had
said even before the coronavirus pandemic hit Hong Kong in late January that
there was already an average of two terminations per day.
There could be more during the contagion crisis, according
to the Mission for Migrant Workers, which based its estimate in April from an
average of 2-3 terminations per day reported to them by walk-in clients seeking
assistance.
The rate of terminations has visibly accelerated as more employers
suffer business losses or unemployment as many companies reel from the economic
impact of the Covid-19 contagion.
“The OFWs are either affected by lockdowns in their
respective host countries — those distressed seeking to be repatriated or those
whose work contracts have expired but cannot return to the Philippines
Foreign domestic
helper population in Hong Kong , 2020
As
of end of Month/Year
|
Other
nationalities
|
Total
-- all nationalities
|
|||
Jan-20
|
219,728
|
170,898
|
4,838
|
4,657
|
400,121
|
Feb-20
|
217,654
|
171,291
|
4,857
|
4,619
|
398,421
|
Mar-20
|
218,002
|
170,318
|
4,818
|
4,594
|
397,732
|
Apr-20
|
215,061
|
167,747
|
4,723
|
4,493
|
392,024
|
May-20
|
212,855
|
165,377
|
4,664
|
4,446
|
387,342
|
Source: Immigration
Department
