‘Anti-migrant sentiment pushes domestic workers away’

Migrant domestic worker activists have called for a crackdown on people accusing workers of terminating their contracts early to change employers. They say anti-migrant sentiment in Hong Kong would discourage them from staying in the city.

Sringatin, president of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union, said on Thursday that foreign domestic workers prefer destinations other than the SAR because of better conditions.

“Hong Kong is not the only place where domestic workers can find jobs. There is also competition between Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada, Malaysia and other countries… If Hong Kong continues to place more restrictions on domestic workers, I think many people will leave Hong Kong,” she said.

“Please stop the accusations of job hopping, please stop pursuing anti-migrant policies, because it not only deters migrants from coming to Hong Kong, but it also makes Hong Kong’s image very bad. ”

Shiela Tebia, chairman of Gabriela Hong Kong, said foreign domestic workers were singled out because they changed employers.

“If (employees) are not satisfied with their working conditions in the company, they can easily send a resignation letter and look for another job that offers them better working conditions,” she said.

“Why does it become a problem when domestic workers want better working conditions? Why is the migrant worker community criminalized for wanting to change employers?”

Chris Sun, head of labor and welfare, said earlier that a revised code of practice for employment agencies will be promulgated in the second quarter of the year, aimed at deterring foreign domestic workers from switching employers midway through their contracts.

Under the planned changes, companies would be asked to clearly explain to helpers the requirements for switching employers, and staffing agencies would be banned from offering monetary incentives to workers for quitting early.

Last year, immigration officials denied about 500 work visa applications from foreign domestic workers on suspicion of job hopping.