HONG KONG (SE): “But for the pandemic, it would not have ended up like this. But I believe my employer made the painful decision to end the contract after taking everything into consideration. I told myself I have to be positive,” Criselda Guetang, a foreign domestic worker whose employment contract was terminated in May, said in an interview with the Sunday Examiner.
Guetang said her female employer and her children decided to stay in Australia in January due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in Hong Kong at that time. Her male employer chose to stay in Hong Kong, telling her if his business here did not do well in the pandemic, he would have to let her go. She was finally terminated in May and a good employment relationship of five years came to an end. Now she still misses her wards.
She said her employers treated her like one of the family, and it made her feel sad when she saw the worried faces of the couple because of their shrinking income. “I can feel the pain in their hearts,” she said.
Guetang said she has now found an employer and would get a new working visa in mid-July. She was thankful for the shelter run by the Diocesan Pastoral Centre for Filipinos, which gave her a place to stay and various kinds of timely support after she was terminated.
Catherine Roduguez, another resident of the shelter, said she was left jobless as her female employer lost her job and became a full-time housewife.
Grace Faborada, on the other hand, said she has used up her savings as she lived in boarding houses for months before being admitted to the shelter. The boarding house charged her $50 a day. The money was supposed to be used for her future education.
Catherine Obado, who was terminated in late June, said she approached some potential employers for interviews, but it takes time to find the right one. Being in her 50s, she cannot take care of elderly people with walking difficulties as she lacks the strength to support them. Nor can she work for an employer who speaks little English, which may cause communication problems, as she cannot speak Cantonese. However, she believes there will be fewer job offers to choose from, due to the economic difficulties.
Immigration statistics showed that the number of foreign domestic workers has decreased from 400,121 in January to 387,342 in May, showing a reduction of as much as 3.2 per cent.
According to Good Shepherd Sister Corazon Demetillo, director of the Diocesan Pastoral Centre for Filipinos, as many as 98 per cent of the total number of residents of the two shelters in the first half of the year were terminated workers, while in the same period in 2019, the percentage was only 70 per cent.
Sister Demetillo that apart from the financial difficulties of employers, workers were terminated for various reasons, such as insisting on going out on days off despite the objection of employers, being unable to handle the double workload during the pandemic and getting stranded in the Philippines due its own Covid-19 lockdown.
The sister said terminated workers came to the centre under much stress due to the pandemic. They may have been denied holidays for a long tiem, or worn out by the heavier workload caused by the need to sterilise the house, take care of children during class suspensions, and so on. They are also worried about their families at home where there is a serious outbreak of the virus.
When she sees a terminated worker who is too depressed to speak, her principle is to let them “rest, sleep and talk later.”
To reduce the pressure on the residents, the shelters offer counselling services as well as prayer meetings to enhance their spiritual growth. Classes on various subjects, such as cooking, baking, gardening and financial management are held in the late afternoon after most residents return to the shelter.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the two shelters have accommodated only half their maximum capacity to maintain social distancing among residents. At present, they can accommodate around 20 workers. Sister Demetillo said they prioritise first timers in Hong Kong who need more support in facing difficulties.
