Agency suspended over FDH luggage allowance

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Hong Kong International Airport

THE Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) has suspended an HK employment agency after a domestic worker complained that her employer did not pay for her luggage when she went to the Philippines.

A source at the POLO said that they were being strict after receiving many complaints from Filipino domestic workers that employers were not paying for their luggage when buying their plane ticket when they go home.

She said the agency, which she declined to identify, was suspended after failing to act on the complaint of a Filipino domestic worker over her luggage allowance.

“When they came here, our domestic workers had their luggage with them. Should they go home only with their hand-carry bag? Of course not,” the source said.

She said employment agencies should remind employers to pay for the luggage allowance of domestic workers or else these agencies would also be suspended.

“They could get suspended over that $200 (payment for luggage allowance). When the standard employment contract was formulated, we did not have budget airlines and so it was understood that buying an airline ticket also included the luggage,” the source said.

“But now that we have budget airlines, and there is an option that the passenger would only have hand-carry luggage, there are employers who are choosing that option. That should stop,” she added.

The source said the Philippine Consulate General (PCG) will raise the issue in the next technical working group (TWG) meeting with HK government officials.

Filipino domestic workers whose employers did not pay for their luggage allowance can call the POLO at 5529-1880 or 6345-9324 and file a complaint.