Philippine job agencies cheating women with illegal fees and crippling loans
Summary
Date Reported: 27 Jun 2023
Location: Hong Kong
Companies
A&W International Manpower Services - Recruiter , Prosperity and Success Lending Investor Corporation - Other Value Chain EntityOther
Not Reported ( Sector not reported/applicable ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Philippines - Sector unknown , Gender not reported )Issues
Withholding Passports , Intimidation , Recruitment Fees , DismissalResponse
Response sought: Yes, by The Guardian
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Neither Prosperity & Success nor A&W responded to request for comment. NGO Migrasia was supporting workers to file complaints from workers with Philippines Govt. entities.
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 27 Jun 2023
Location: Hong Kong
Companies
Rapid Manpower Consultants - Recruiter , Hoya Lending Investor Corporation - Other Value Chain EntityOther
Not Reported ( Sector not reported/applicable ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Philippines - Sector unknown , Gender not reported )Issues
Recruitment Fees , Intimidation , Dismissal , Withholding Passports , Harassment (other than sexual)Response
Response sought: Yes, by The Guardian
Action taken: The companies did not respond to the Guardian request for comment.
Source type: News outlet
Employment agencies and money-lending companies in the Philippines are cheating women applying for jobs abroad out of thousands of pounds…
Recruiters take applicants … to financial firms they have links with to take out loans to pay the fees, which come with interest rates often exceeding 130%...
Merry Criz Renayong … said she was told by the recruitment agency Rapid Manpower Consultants that she needed to pay $1,200 in medical and training fees when she applied for a job in Hong Kong in 2019.
When she said she could not afford to pay the fees, she said she was taken to the nearby offices of Hoya Lending Investor Corporation, where she signed a loan agreement. But she said: “I was not allowed to take a photo of the contract.”…
When Annabelle Gutierrez…applied for a job in Hong Kong through A&W International Manpower Services, she was informed she needed to take out a loan with Prosperity & Success Lending Investor Corporation…
Hoya Lending and Prosperity & Success declined to comment. Rapid Manpower and A&W did not respond to repeated requests for comment and neither did the Philippine SEC. The Department of Migrant Workers said it would provide a comment, but none has been received…