‘A Big Lie’: Migrant groups bristle as HK rejects 170 FDH visa applicants for `job-hopping’ Posted on 3/01/2014 by Philip C. Tubeza “WE are not criminals!” Migrant groups are up in arms after a Hong Kong official revealed that 170 foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) applying for visas were rejected because they were suspected of “job-hopping.” Dolores Balladares, a spokesperson of the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body (AMCB), scored the Immigration Department (ImmD) policy after Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok announced that 1,372 FDH visa applicants were suspected of “job-hopping” from June 2013 up to January 2014 and that 170 of these were refused. Balladares said the government was using the issue to divert public attention from the cases of abuse of domestic workers in Hong Kong, including the “torture” of Indonesian Erwiana Sulistyaningsih which made headlines around the world. “We are not criminals! This so-called `job-hopping for financial gain’ of FDHs is a big lie,” Balladares said in a statement. “(It) is just another scare tactic of the HKSAR government to divert the issue away from the slave-like treatment of Erwiana and to defend the government policies, mostly immigration policies, that create the condition for modern-day slavery of foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong,” she added. The AMCB held a protest action on February 26 outside the Immigration Tower in Wan Chai to condemn the ImmD policy. Malicious “This malicious accusation of `job-hopping’ allegedly being perpetrated by FDHs is a myth as government policies and regulations that are in place and the excessive fee being charged by employment agencies make it highly improbable for FDHs to `job-hop,’” Balladares said. “Furthermore, our experience showed that FDHs are usually reluctant to complain despite the abuses and maltreatment because of fear of losing their job, being sent back to their country of origin within two weeks with no money to support their families and to pay their debts,” she said. “It is only when the working and living condition becomes extremely unbearable that FDHs will decide to file complaints or terminate their contract. The case of Erwiana is the latest testament to this,” she added. Lai announced the ImmD decision to refuse 170 FDH visa applications at the Legislative Council (Legco) after he was asked about “job-hopping” by lawmaker Chung Kwok-pan. “ImmD will, in processing the employment visa applications of FDHs, closely scrutinize their case details such as the number of and reasons for premature contract termination within 12 months with a view to detecting any abuse of the arrangements for premature contract termination,” Lai said on February 19. “If ImmD suspects such abuse, the application will be refused,” he added. Lai said that, from the implementation of the new ImmD policy against “job-hopping” in June 2013 until January 2014, ImmD received about 40,000 employment visa applications from FDHs. Out of that number, 1,372 were suspected of `job-hopping,’ accounting for 3.4 percent of all applications, he added. “After closely scrutinizing these applications, ImmD refused 170 of them. Another 158 applications were withdrawn by the applicant or required no further action,” Lai said. “ImmD believes that this measure helps to deter abuse and will review its effectiveness from time to time,” he added. Lai explained that change of employer applications from FDHs will not be approved “except under exceptional circumstances” such as if her contract is “terminated on grounds of the transfer, migration, death or financial reasons of the ex-employer,” or if there is evidence suggesting that the FDH has been abused or exploited. “The applicant must provide proof to satisfy ImmD that his/her application meets the above circumstances in order to be approved to change employers in Hong Kong,” Lai said. “If the applicant is suspected to have any adverse records or breaches, including abuse of the employment arrangement for FDHs, ImmD will consider refusing the application based on individual circumstances,” he added. Joseph Law, chairman of the Hong Kong Employers of Overseas Domestic Helpers Association, said in an interview last year that many employers were complaining about the alleged “job-hopping” of domestic workers. “They tell me the same story… the FDH coerces them to terminate (her); then the employer finds out the helper has been changing employment,” he said, adding that these workers were in cahoots with employment agencies. “After the worker is fired, her loans would be cut/written off. Then instead of paying $20,000 for a new job, she only needs to pay almost half, or about $8,000,” Law said. However, Eman Villanueva, secretary-general of United Filipinos in Hong Kong, insisted that job-hopping does not exist due to restrictive government policies and the fees FDHs would have to pay if they change employers. He pointed out that the “two-week rule” requires workers who lost their jobs to leave Hong Kong within two weeks. Even if they find new employment, they still need to leave and wait for their new visa. “Since direct hiring is banned, the worker will have to go through the agency and pay ($9,000-$15,000) to work again. Who in her right mind would go through such hassle? What benefit will the worker get?” Villanueva said. “The agency can still run after the worker (loans). If she worked for less than two years, there’s no severance payment. One month salary is not enough to compensate what she paid to come here and the fees to get another employer. It doesn’t make sense,” he added. Latest Immigration data showed there are a total of 323,381 foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong as of January. - See more at: hongkongnews.hk/big-lie/#sthash.2lzss8d1.dpuf
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 02:12:40 +0000
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