A lot of Filipinos dream of working abroad, mostly because they see that most overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) they know now live better, richer lives.
Sadly, not everyone finds good fortune abroad. Some find themselves in trouble with fake employers.
Recently, a Filipina received HK$19k compensation after running away from her fake employer in Hong Kong and seeking help from authorities.
The Filipina worker whose name was withheld for privacy reasons had been working with her employer, a Hong Kong national, for three months. But the Hong Kong national was just pretending to be her employer.
After three months, the Hong Kong national told the OFW that her real employer has already secured a China visitor visa for her and that she should go there immediately because her contract was supposedly with that employer.
Knowing her rights and knowing that this arrangement was not legal, the Filipina worker decided to breach the original contract and ran away to seek help from authorities.
Labor Attache Jalilo dela Torre set up a meeting with the Hong Kong national and the Filipina worker to investigate the matter. It turned out that the Hong Kong national also falsified the contract, giving a different name and address as that she provided in the contract.
The Labor Attache told the fake employer that what she did breaches the country’s immigration rules and such is punishable by law.
Stock photo
Afraid of the consequences she must face for her actions, the woman readily paid the OFW her three months’ worth of salary worth HK$13,320 (Php89,500) plus a refund of the training and processing fees she paid the agency in the Philippines, worth HK$5,960 (Php40,000).
It was a good thing that Filipina worker, a first-timer in Hong Kong, knew her rights and sought help before she was sent to China. The worker is now looking for a job, using her 14-day visa extension in Hong Kong. Good luck!
