'Anti-migrant sentiment pushes domestic workers away'
Migrant domestic worker activists have called for a stop to people who accuse workers of prematurely terminating their contracts to change employers, saying anti-migrant sentiment in Hong Kong would discourage them from staying in the city.  Sringatin, who chairs the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union, on Thursday said foreign domestic workers preferred destinations other than the SAR because of better conditions.  “Hong Kong is not the only place for domestic workers to find a job. There is also competition between Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada, Malaysia and other countries... If Hong Kong continues [to have] more restrictions on domestic workers, I think many people will leave Hong Kong," she said.  "Please stop [job-hopping] accusations, please stop doing anti-migrant policies, because it's not only stopping migrants from coming to Hong Kong, but it also makes the image of Hong Kong become very bad."  Shiela Tebia, the chairperson of Gabriela Hong Kong, said foreign domestic workers had been singled out for changing employers. "If [workers] are not content with their working conditions in the company, they can easily send a resignation letter and find another job that gives them a better working conditions," she said.  "Why does it become an issue when domestic workers want to have a better working condition? Why is the migrant workers community criminalised because of wanting to change employers?" Labour and welfare chief Chris Sun earlier said a revised code of practice for employment agencies, aimed at deterring foreign domestic workers from changing employers mid-contract, would be promulgated in the second quarter of the year.  Under the planned changes, firms would be asked to explain clearly to helpers on requirements to change employers and employment agencies would be banned from providing monetary incentives for workers to quit early.  Last year, the Immigration Department refused about 500 employment visa applications from foreign domestic workers for suspected job-hopping.