The Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong hosted on 23 September 2018 a workshop organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Hong Kong to train paralegal volunteers among household service workers (HSWs) employed in the territory.

The module explains the basics of Hong Kong’s criminal and civil justice systems and provides an overview of the international legal framework on trafficking in persons and migration of laws and policies in the countries of origin.

It also introduces interactive training activities that would equip participating migrant domestic worker (MDW) leaders with necessary practical skills to identify, handle and refer cases properly in a timely fashion.

In remarks, Consul Paulo Saret thanked IOM and the participants, stressing that the Consulate alone cannot address all the issues confronting migrant workers, especially HSWs, in Hong Kong and that it needs to work hand-in-hand with advocacy groups and volunteer HSW leaders due to the sheer number of foreign domestic helpers in the Territory.

Nonetheless, he added that “you cannot give what you do not have, so the workshop will somehow equip you with the basic knowledge of the relevant laws and procedures of Hong Kong to enable you to become effective partners of the Consulate in assisting fellow HSWs in the legal issues confronting them.”

The workshop, which was attended by 14 Filipino and 7 Indonesian female migrant workers who are leaders of different migrant organizations in Hong Kong, served as a validation exercise of the paralegal module prepared by the IOM-HK for domestic migrant workers.

Representatives from Justice Without Borders (JWB), an organization commissioned by IOM, discussed the draft module on topics including the civil and criminal laws in Hong Kong.