Finally! Somebody has a least started to look at this problem

"The Immigration Department is refusing work visa applications from foreign workers deemed to have cut short their contracts too often or without legitimate reasons.


The Immigration Department is refusing work visa applications from foreign workers deemed to have cut short their contracts too often or without legitimate reasons.


The department said this in a statement last night amid public concern that some foreign domestic helpers were switching jobs to earn severance pay by terminating their contracts before the two-year work period was up.


The department said it had refused 45 applicants who were suspected to be involved in such abuse in the past two months.


It also said employers who were found to have exploited their domestic workers would also be denied applications in the future to employ foreign domestic workers.


Joseph Law, chairman of the Hong Kong Employers of Domestic Helpers Association, said some domestic workers were known to have colluded with employment agencies to get greater benefits by prompting their employers to terminate their contracts soon after they arrive.


He said the department should spell out how many changes of employer by a worker would constitute an abuse of the system.


"Once any foreign domestic helper is found to have changed jobs without a legitimate reason, the Immigration Department should consider, say, stopping processing her employment visa applications for six months," Law said."

Excellent news, it is about time they recognised regular contract breakers, who in turn cost employers a lot of money in termination wages and airfares.

Hallelujah ... about time ... now let's hope the actual law has some serious teeth to it!

Thank goodness for this! In the past year, I've had two helpers who resigned (sending me to tears), one who was always on the phone and agreed that she'd rather work elsewhere before my third child was born, and my recent one who demanded a WIFI on her second day and threatened to resign if I didn't grant her a holiday 3 months after she started work with me (her last day with me is this Friday).

I've paid so much money that I could cry. I really, really hope that my next one will stay for a long time and will be very serious about her job.

I wonder (not really, obviously) if they are also going to do the same for employers who keep terminating their maids' contracts early. My ex-helper recently lost her job, and said that she was the sixth helper that the employer had fired before the end of their first contract. If helpers are going to be restricted in this way, so should employers.

I wonder who this Joseph Law is, or what the organisation is that he represents. He is quoted in the recent case of abuse making a very inappropriate statement when he should actually be condemning the behaviour for which the employers are being jailed. I don't think I would want to be associated with him.


From the SCMP:

A spokesman for the Hong Kong Employers of Domestic Helpers Association said the case had sent a warning to employers and helpers since most cases of abuse arose from a lack of mutual understanding. "Both parties should understand the importance of harmony as they are living under the same roof," he said.