Among our clients at the Mission, one thing we noticed is that many tend to stay in their job no matter their living condition, work situation and how they are treated by their employer. While some manage to stand up and say no to what is going on, give a month’s notice or pay a month’s wage in lieu of notice, they are more of the exceptions rather than the rule.
While there are those who are able to say to their employer that they are leaving, the reasons they give are far from the real ones because they try to avoid arguments. This is understandable because they are forced to live with their employer. If they tell the truth, employers can make life more difficult for them during the remaining period from when they tender their notice of termination of contract. So to avoid arguments, migrant workers will just diplomatically say “I am needed at home” or “there is an emergency at home” or “my family wants me back for good”, and other safe ones. This way, an employer will not feel offended and the parting of ways may appear peaceful.
This, of course, does not address the real cause of termination of contract and may result to the continuation, or even worsening, of the bad attitude and untoward treatment of other workers. The ill-treatment was not pointed out. The abuse was not corrected because you did not make the employer aware that you disliked the meanness. This means that there may be more workers who will become victims of ill-treatment by that same employer. They may even say that you would have enjoyed working for them except for the excuse that you gave, because you never complained. You may then find yourself in the same situation with another employer, which could make you do the same thing all over again.
This may work against you now because of the Immigration Department’s policy of reviewing cases which they think amount to job-hopping. If they do not see valid reasons why you terminated the contract, they could suspect you of job-hopping and refuse your visa application in the process. That is most unfortunate because aside from getting victimized several times over, the Immigration Department’s decision will make your situation worse.
Job-hopping in its strict sense is usually done by employees to gain financially. That can happen especially in the corporate world when one is offered higher salaries and better benefits by another company. A worker leaves one job after another for a better offer. In such cases, the job hopping does not result to one losing his or her employment visa.
But it’s different with FDWs, who are often too scared to lose their jobs. Even if they do decide to switch to another employer, it is rare that they would do it several times in one year.
In most cases, when an FDW transfers to another employer, she is confronted with joblessness for at least two months. Moreover, she will have to pay huge agency fees all over again– which usually amount to about two months’ salary.
For an FDW who is physically or sexually abused, even establishing a valid reason for the termination of contract can be hard. While there may be a breach of contract by the employer, it is usually difficult to prove such because there are no scars that are immediately visible.
But even with an injury, it is difficult to prove that an employer is liable for it. One concrete case we handled was that of an FDW who got her fingers cut off but the court ruled that it could not be proven that it was due to the employer’s misdeed because no one saw or witnessed what happened.
Indeed, a charge of job-hopping can, in most cases, be unfair and unjust.
While we do not encourage the arbitrary termination of the employment contract, we also do not want our OFWs to put up with an unbearable situation. The worker could be harmed further, physically or mentally, if she is forced to remain in a violent setting.
Thus, the following suggestions are in the hope that migrants are able to handle their situation more courageously and that the Immigration Department will be more considerate to their plight:
a. Gather all the pieces of evidence that you can get hold of. It may be in the form of a piece of paper with instructions or computation of wage with your employer’s handwriting, or any piece of evidence related to the breach of contract. You must be astute enough in collecting proof to prove your allegations. This is the only way that the Immigration Department may understand your predicament and consider your application for change of employment. Otherwise, failure to show proof might result to the automatic rejection of the application.
b. If it is a case of physical abuse, report the matter to the police by calling 999. If constant abuse is experienced, regularly visit your doctor and explain why you are suffering from physical pain though no signs of violence can be traced. The doctor through your medical record may be able to help.
c. It will also be wise to inform the Labour Department about the breach of contract by the employer before you leave. Send copies to the Immigration Department and the Consular office. Usually, all these government agencies will reply with a notice of acknowledgement. Keep this as additional proof that you have informed them about the breach of contract by the employer.
d. Another proactive action to do while still in the process of building up the evidence is to start looking for a prospective employer. Explain to them your situation and ask for assurance that in case the Immigration Department interviews them, they can say that they know about your previous experience and that you were honest in informing them.
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This is the monthly column from the Mission for Migrant Workers, an institution that has been serving the needs of migrant workers in Hong Kong for over 31 years. The Mission, headed by its general manager, Cynthia Tellez, assists migrant workers who are in distress, and focuses its efforts on crisis intervention and prevention through migrant empowerment. Mission has its offices at St John’s Cathedral on Garden Road, Central, and may be reached through tel. no. 2522 8264.
