Ople: HK gov’t vows to assist family of OFW who fell to her death after cleaning a window

MIGRANT Workers Secretary Susan Ople assured the family of “Lyn”, the overseas Filipino worker who fell to her death in Hong Kong after cleaning a window of her employer’s flat, that the Philippine government and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China will work closely together to prevent similar tragic cases from happening in the future.

Ople made this assurance after her phone conversation with Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun last night where the latter vowed to extend as much assistance as possible to the bereaved family.

“Lyn” was 38 years old and unmarried at the time of death, and her two siblings are now in Hong Kong under the care of the Philippine Consulate and the Migrant Workers’ Office to facilitate the repatriation of the remains and to hold a meeting with their sister’s employer as well as the HK Employees’ Compensation Division.

“We will extend full assistance and support to her bereaved family while working closely with Secretary Chris Sun and his department to ensure that the principle of ‘safety above all else’ is carried out as part of employers’ obligations,” Ople said. The DMW recently issued an advisory for all employers to abide by the terms and conditions of the contract including the prohibition on window-cleaning.

In a phone conversation yesterday evening, Secretary Sun told Ople that he was “deeply troubled and saddened” by the OFW’s tragic death.

“Secretary Sun and I discussed the need to remind employers of foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong about the prohibition in the standard employment contract on window-cleaning which has been in effect since 2017,” Ople said. It was then former Labor Attaché Jalilo dela Torre that lobbied for the said prohibition.

Based on the HK-approved standard employment contract for Filipino domestic workers, window-cleaning can only be allowed when the windows have grills and only the arms of the workers can stretch outside.

The Hongkong government’s Immigration Authority reports that as of April 30, 2022 there are 211,514 Filipinos in the Special Administrative Region with 181,067 working as domestic workers.