According to the Society of Hong Kong Accredited Recruiters of the Philippines, Inc. (SHARP), they decided to stop sending OFWs, specifically the Filipino household service workers in Hong Kong. The said group of agencies claims that they ordered the moratorium because their foreign counterparts in Hong Kong are charging excessive placement fees.

The SHARP is a group of licensed overseas employment agencies in the Philippines that sends HSWs to this Asian country. Their members are responsible for 63 percent of OFWs employed in Hong Kong. In SHARP’s General Assembly that was held last month, their members decided to halt the deployment of OFWs.

The organization presented their reasons for the moratorium to the Department of Labor and Employment and the POEA governing board. The DOLE said in a press release in their official website that they will respect the private and voluntary business decision of the members of SHARP.

Labor Secretary Baldoz said that she had already instructed POEA to investigate the matter and submit their findings and recommendations to the POEA Board as soon as possible.

Alfredo Palmiery, the SHARP president said, "It is with utmost sadness, but with a very realistic outlook, that we, at SHARP, have to declare a moratorium on the recruitment and deployment of HSWs to Hong Kong until such time that our counterparts and their employers have satisfactorily addressed the issue."

Palmiery added that the high cost of recruitment that the agencies based in Hong Kong demands "jeopardize the interest and welfare of OFWs." Aside from that, the high fees also affect their business negatively.

He said, "We are legitimate business owners, but first and foremost, we are able to sustain our businesses because we look after the welfare and well-being of our OFWs."

According to SHARP, OFWs in Hong Kong are charged a placement fee which is equivalent to their monthly salary of USD505.

For the deployment of OFWs in Hong Kong to resume, they demand an implementation of zero placement fee policy.

Palmiery said, "Financially, the costs of abandoning and losing a major labor market are huge. A moratorium may also have socio-economic effects and could affect friendly bilateral relations between Hong Kong and the Philippines."

"However, our primordial consideration here is the interest and welfare of our HSWs who are groaning under the heavy weight of high recruitment costs at the Hong Kong end of the recruitment cycle," he added.

Please note that POEA-licensed recruitment agencies that are not members of SHARP are still recruiting and deploying Filipino HSWs to Hong Kong.