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Horror of '97 Asian crisis in HK may be felt by domestic helpers in '09


MANILA, Philippines - The horrors of the 1997 Asian economic crisis might make a devastating comeback in the next few months for thousands of migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong who face immediate layoffs amid the US-led global meltdown, a migrant leader said.   Sumiyati, chairperson of the Coalition for Migrant Rights, said in a statement sent to GMANews.TV that domestic workers in Hong Kong are traditionally the first casualties of an economic crisis since they have less job security and bargaining power.   The Indonesian migrant leader, who had been working as a domestic helper for 27 years, said that thousands of household service workers today might suffer the same fate as they had 11 years ago.   “In the 1997-1998 crisis, more than 27,000 migrant domestic workers were terminated in HK.  In times of crises, migrants, who have less job security and bargaining power, have traditionally been the first to be terminated, deported, and subjected to cuts in wages and benefits," Sumiyati said.   About 22,127 Filipino domestic workers were hired in Hong Kong last year, statistics from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) revealed.   Despite fears surrounding the employment status of thousands of Filipino domestic helpers in Hong Kong several manpower agencies maintained that the household service sector is recession-proof for now.   Loreto Soriano, executive director of the Federated Association of Manpower Exporters Inc. (Fame), told GMANews.TV that the economic crisis has magnified the importance of migrant domestic workers particularly in hard-hit Asian countries like Hong Kong and Singapore.   As people brace themselves for the worst amid the crisis, Soriano foresees that both employers (husband and wife) would be prodded to look for jobs, leaving the household under the care of the domestic worker.   So far Filipino factory workers in export-driven economies like Taiwan have been the hardest hit of the global economic crunch. According to data gathered by GMA Research from the Labor Department and Manila’s de facto embassy in Taiwan, a total of 2,087 Filipino factory workers had been laid off due to the crisis.   In view of the perceived vulnerability of domestic workers, the Asian Domestic Workers Alliance, a group of Filipino, Thai, Indonesian and Nepalese household workers, trumpeted calls for Hong Kong’s adoption of the International Labor Organization convention which recognizes domestic work and safeguards their rights to social security, proper working hours and overtime pay among others.   The group is calling for the vigilant implementation of the labor laws on domestic helpers; a government stimulus package that would urge companies to retain its workers; restoration of the HK$3,860 minimum wage for migrant domestic workers that was amended after the ’97 crisis; and severe punishment for recruitment agencies who charge beyond the 10 percent recruitment fee. - GMANews.TV
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