HONG KONG (SE): Sister Cora Demetillo, director of the Diocesan Pastoral Centre for Filipinos, expressed concern about the high percentage of workers whose visa applications for a new job were denied in the latter part of last year after the termination of their previous contracts. Migrant rights workers worried that the strict immigration policy could result in more exploitation at work.
According to the figures from the pastoral centre, in the recent three months, 70 per cent of visa applications submitted by terminated workers at the two shelters run by the centre, Mary’s Home and St. Martha shelters, were rejected with no reason stated.
Some applicants have worked for 10 to 20 years in Hong Kong but were just terminated by the latest employer. A personal request letter from the prospective employer did not help their applications. When the rejected applicants asked if they could work again in Hong Kong, the Immigration Department officer would only say that their visa application would be considered if they applied for a new job again from their country of origin.
“This will be tough, for both employers and workers, at this time of the widespread infections. This would mean long processing of documents due to lockdowns, more expenses, high-risk of getting infected in the country of origin, travel bans and other unexpected circumstances,” Sister Demetillo said.
Similarly, Johannie Tong, community relations officer of the Mission for Migrant Workers, said nearly 70 per cent of the terminated workers of the shelter house run by the group, the Bethune House, were not granted visas by the Immigration Department in the recent five months.
This will be tough, for both employers and workers, at this time of the widespread infections. This would mean long processing of documents due to lockdowns, more expenses, high-risk of getting infected in the country of origin, travel bans and other unexpected circumstances’
Sister Cora Demetillo
Tong said the Immigration Department started tackling job-hopping due to the shortage of workers in the market from the end of 2020. She has seen the strict implementation of the visa application process since the first quarter of 2021.
In 2020, the Immigration Department of Hong Kong had a flexible policy because of the pandemic (Sunday Examiner, 19 July 2020). Terminated workers were allowed to stay more than a month, and working visas from new employers were generously granted to cater to the high demand for foreign domestic workers and reduce the risk of infection while travelling to and from their countries of origin.
However, starting from 30 December 2020, the Hong Kong government required terminated workers to leave Hong Kong within two weeks to reduce the risk of infection to foreign domestic workers who stayed in crowded boarding houses, and to crack down on job-hopping as the numbers of the latter increased from 1,705 in 2019 to 1,776 in 2020.
Tong said she is worried that the strict policy will negatively affect workers who need to end their employment relationship if they do not find a job suitable for them or due to exploitation. “It deprives them of their labour rights. Above all, the Immigration Department needs to explain on what grounds a worker is accused of job-hopping,” she said.
Sister Demetillo added that she felt disturbed about media reports of job-hopping being used as a worker’s reason for pre-terminating a contract. “Maybe a few did it, but it cannot be generalised,” she said.
No worker would want to lose their job, especially during this time of the pandemic. I heard from many workers that their main goal is to finish one contract after another to earn a good work record. They even try to endure the inhumane treatment they are receiving as much as they can to keep their job
Sister Demetillo
“No worker would want to lose their job, especially during this time of the pandemic. I heard from many workers that their main goal is to finish one contract after another to earn a good work record. They even try to endure the inhumane treatment they are receiving as much as they can to keep their job,” she continued.
Moreover, according to the annual report of the pastoral centre last year, despite the shortage of foreign domestic workers, many residents of two shelters were terminated by their employers for no clear reasons.
The two shelters can usually accommodate 35 migrant workers from different nationalities. However, with the Covid-19 restrictions, admission was limited to half for the safety of residents and staff. Out of the 148 cases handled by the shelters, 64 were terminated by their employers for various reasons. Some were dismissed as their employers migrated to other countries or had financial difficulties. Some said they had been illegally employed by their previous employer, who needed to wait for a stranded worker in their country of origin, and were finally sacked, while some said they could not understand why their employers terminated them.
Sister Demetillo said it was sad to see such employment problems even with the shortage of workers, but she believes the bad employment relationship can be caused by the lack of support from employment agencies or the lack of sensitivity and concern for workers.
Of the 29 cases in which workers quit their jobs, the reasons given were mainly maltreatment and stress. Sister Demetillo said she believes workers have the right to give up their jobs if they cannot endure the pressure from work and that it is not fair to accuse them of job-hopping.
The sister said that it was pretty easy for workers in the shelter to find new employers who signed their contracts because of the high demand for workers. However, the strict immigration policy since early 2021 hit them hard.
