They say health is wealth, but if you’re working overseas and accommodating the demands of work abroad set by a foreign employer, sometimes, we often forget to take care of health.
This is exactly the reason why our labour officials are working hard at looking after the welfare of our kababayan in every part of the world through constant coordination with the government and establishing new policies for this sector.
Regular Medical Tests to be Part of the Requirements for New Contract Signing among OFWs in HK
And this is exactly what Labour Attaché Jalilo dela Torre urged the HK government to do, by requiring medical check-ups for migrant workers who get signed up for new contracts by local employers, as shared in a report by the Sun HK.
The call was influenced by what Labatt Dela Torre considers as “scary” results from Project HealthWise, the free basic medical check-up for migrant Filipino workers which was introduced under his leadership from November last year, which revealed an increase in the number of migrant workers contracting cancer or other serious health conditions while working in Hong Kong.
As per the statistics gathered by Labatt, of the 1,441 Filipinos who underwent blood glucose testing, 14% were discovered to be pre-diabetic, while 7.63% were confirmed diabetics. The numbers, according to Labatt, were notably higher than the prevalence rate among adults in the Philippines at 6.2%.
Among those who will show abnormal readings of protein, blood glucose, pH, and ascetic acid based on the regular check-ups have reportedly been included on a “watchlist” for further monitoring and education.
On top of this health programme, Labatt Dela Torre had also requested the government to consider making medical check-ups a mandatory procedure for all migrant Filipino workers who wish to take up domestic employment in the city, whether as first-timers, returning workers, or re-contracts.