This article was first published in The New Paper on May 30, 2008.
600 workers crammed on two floors
Foreign workers new home: a bedbug-infested dorm in a converted factory building in MacPherson, packed with more than 600 foreign workers from various companies on two floors. -TNP
Tay Shi'an
Sun, Jun 01, 2008
The New Paper
THEY were living in squalid conditions - 38 foreign workers squeezed into a tiny, dirty shophouse - when Ministry of Manpower (MOM) officials ordered their employer to find them acceptable accommodation.
But the employer allegedly told the workers off for going to the authorities - and moved them into an even worse dormitory as 'punishment'.
Their new home: A bedbug-infested dorm in a converted factory building in MacPherson, packed with more than 600 foreign workers from various companies on two floors.
The New Paper entered one room, measuring 25ft by 20ft (about the size of a two-room HDB flat), with 54 workers were crammed inside.
The building, at Kampong Ampat, is on lease from HDB and the dorm is on the list of approved dorms on MOM's website.
The foreign workers from the first dorm said they did not dare complain to MOM again, as their boss had allegedly threatened to send them back to India and get them blacklisted from working in Singapore again.
But their employer, Rite Choice Technologies, denied this.
Its director, Mr V Raju, said he was unaware of the conditions at the new dorm, which he stressed is on the list of approved dorms.
His company, which was fined $2,000 for the previous offence, is now being investigated by MOM for failure to ensure the well-being of their workers, along with the other companies which had housed their workers at Kampong Ampat.
Said a foreign worker in his 20s:
'This place is much worse, I've lost 4kg just by staying here.
'It's more crowded, it's very smelly and dirty, and the bedbugs are worse.
I can't get any sleep.
'How can a person stay here?'
After The New Paper notified the authorities, MOM officers investigated the dorm on 22 May.
Said its spokesman: 'We found that the workers were being housed in overcrowded conditions, with more than 600 foreign workers crammed into the third and fourth storeys of the factory-converted dormitory.'
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) also inspected the premises and found fire safety infringements relating to overcrowding and obstruction to fire escape routes, said LTC N Subhas, director of its public affairs department.
As for the other allegations by the Rite Choice Technologies workers, MOM's spokesman said: 'MOM is also assisting the workers in resolving their complaints on other employment-related issues.
'We will also facilitate change of employers for foreign workers who have been victimised.'
Four Rite Choice Technologies workers agreed to speak to The New Paper on condition of anonymity.
They said they had put up with the conditions at their former dorm at a Tanjong Katong shophouse until a workplace dispute on 20 Mar.
That's when they lodged a complaint with MOM.
The 38 workers - 17 from Rite Choice Technologies and the rest from its associate companies - had been squeezed into three bedrooms in the 1,800 sq ft shophouse. The Straits Times had carried a report on it, 'Shophouse of horrors', on 1 Apr.
They slept on bunk beds, shared a single bathroom and toilet, and put up with overloaded power points and regular power trips.
Said one worker in Tamil: 'MOM came and interviewed us. They came back one more time to check on our well-being, then gave us a number to call if we had any more problems.
'They told us not to be scared.'
But he alleged that Mr Raju later questioned the workers and threatened them. He said: 'He told us he will not be affected by this complaint. They cannot touch a hair on his head, and we will be punished for going to MOM.'
BEDBUG INFESTATION
In early May, the workers were moved to Kampong Ampat, where they slept on triple-decker beds.
The bedbug infestation was worse.
Many of the workers had mortgaged their land and houses in their home country, and could not afford to be sent back with huge debts over their heads.
They earn about $500 a month here, and usually spend their first year working off their loans.
Many are single, and a common dream is to earn enough money, then go home and get married.
Said one worker: 'We thought in Singapore, we could make 25,000 rupees ($800) a month and send back money. We were told that if work hard, we can make good money for our families.
'If we knew what we know now, we wouldn't have come here.'
But Mr Raju claimed it was a coincidence that his company was facing its second investigation in just over two months for failure to ensure the well-being of his workers.
He claimed he was not aware there were violations at the Kampong Ampat dorm until The New Paper called him.
'I've never been there, I'm not aware of the conditions,' he said.
He faxed over his contract with the dorm operator to show that the arrangement was legitimate.
Of his workers' allegations that he had threatened them, he said: 'No such thing. When did I say this, tell me? Can they prove it?
He said that despite his company hitting the headlines last month, he did not send home a worker who had made allegations against it.
'They are still working for me,' he said. 'I'm not planning to send back any one, I have jobs for them.'
His company was served a termination notice by the dorm operator, ISO Industry, and 26 of his 90 workers who are still staying there will have to leave by 26 Jun.
ISO Industry's managing director, Mr Patrick Peh, said the company has admitted to the overcrowding in the Kampong Ampat dorm to MOM, and will be rectifying the conditions.
He said most of the workers will be moved to an approved dorm on Yishun Avenue 7 by this Sunday.
'While they are away, we are going to improve the facilities and conditions. We hope to satisfy all conditions set out by the relevant authorities,' he said.
HDB is also conducting an investigation because it was not informed that Rite Choice workers were staying there.
Mr Peh said this was an oversight, and ISO had informed HDB of the other sub-tenants.
The MOM spokesman reminded employers that, as part of the work permit conditions, they must provide proper housing for their foreign workers that comply with the requirements set by the various government agencies.
'Errant employers will be prosecuted and barred from hiring foreign workers,' she said.
'MOM conducts audit checks on the approved dormitories regularly.'
Friday, May 30, 2008
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
NO JOB, NO MONEY, NO PLACE TO STAY
The following article was published in The New Paper on 6 May 2008.
NO JOB, NO MONEY, NO PLACE TO STAY
By TAN MAY PING
The New Paper
06/05/2008
One China cook's plight after salary row
THEN
NO JOB, NO MONEY, NO PLACE TO STAY
NOW
I can finally send money back to my family again.
TO his family in China, he is working as a cook in Singapore and earning good money.
But for almost four months until mid-April, Mr Li Bingxin, 39, was broke and living on the streets here.
All he had was a backpack containing clothes and some personal items.
And he kept the bad news from his family as he did not think they could cope with it.
Said Mr Li, who is married with a 15-year-old son, in Mandarin: "My parents are in their 80s and are frail. I can't let them, not even my wife, know what has happened."
Mr Li's troubles started after he had a salary dispute with his employer and quit his job at the end of last year.
He came here from Shandong province in March last year to work as a cook after paying an agent 30,000 yuan ($5,900).
The agent said he could earn at least 10,000 yuan, or about $2,000, working here, claimed Mr Li.
NO REGULAR PAY
Mr Li worked at a Chinese restaurant in Geylang and claimed that the owner had agreed to pay him $2,500 a month. But he alleged that his employer did not pay his salary regularly from the start.
"When I asked for my pay, he kept telling me not to worry and that he wouldn't cheat me," said Mr Li, adding that the employer gave him some money every now and then.
MrLi claimed that he was paid about $5,500 in total and had remitted all the money home. His employer still owes him about $18,000, including overtime pay, he claimed.
Saying that he worked up to 15 hours a day without any rest days, Mr Li added: "It was very tiring. I had headaches and backaches, and couldn't sleep well."
Mr Li said the last straw was when his employer vented his anger at him after a quarrel with his wife.
He stopped turning up for work and left the workers' quarters.
Even though another restaurant was willing to hire him at the time, the employment pass (EP) holder couldn't take the job as his former boss refused to cancel his pass, which is required by law when EP holders change employers.
On the advice of a fellow countryman, he handed in his resignation letter and lodged a police report on 7 Jan. He also filed a complaint with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
In the meantime, Mr Li roamed around every day and had no place to sleep at night.
"Sometimes I would sleep on benches, other times, I lay newspapers or cardboard boxes on the floor," he said when first interviewed.
He was attacked by dogs and had a fever for four days after being bitten by mosquitoes.
Penniless, Mr Li would turn up at hotel kitchens to ask for food.
He found out about a Sikh temple near Outram MRT station which gives out free food.
"I have to cover my head with cloth and take off my shoes before I go in," said Mr Li, adding that he was grateful.
Mr Li took occasional showers in public toilets and his only pair of shoes was worn out from walking all day.
He also borrowed $10 or $20 from acquaintances when he was desperate.
At his wits' end, Mr Li turned to migrants' welfare group Humanitarian Organisation of Migration Economics (Home) for help in late March.
It requested MOM to facilitate Mr Li's transfer of employer so that he could work again. Things moved faster after that.
When contacted in early April, an MOM spokesman confirmed receiving a complaint from him against his employer over short payment of salary.
Said the spokesman: "An inquiry was held where Mr Li and his employer settled on the payment of salary arrears.
"The employer made an initial payment but defaulted payment for the balance. A further inquiry would thus be held."
Although cancellation of the EP is usually done by the employer who applied for it, the employee may cancel it if he can produce documents to show that the employment relationship has been terminated, added the spokesman.
Once Mr Li did so, his EP was cancelled and his new employer applied for a new one for him.
Yesterday, at his new workplace, also a Chinese restaurant in Geylang, Mr Li was a different man.
"I'm feeling very good. The boss is from the same province as me, and I want to help him grow his business," said a beaming Mr Li, who started work on 16 Apr.
He earns more than $2,500 a month and lives in the workers' accommodation provided by the owner.
As the case against his former employer is still ongoing, Mr Li is hopeful he will get what is owed to him.
Meanwhile, he can't wait to get his first pay cheque next week.
"I can finally send money back to my family again," he said.
NO JOB, NO MONEY, NO PLACE TO STAY
By TAN MAY PING
The New Paper
06/05/2008
One China cook's plight after salary row
THEN
NO JOB, NO MONEY, NO PLACE TO STAY
NOW
I can finally send money back to my family again.
TO his family in China, he is working as a cook in Singapore and earning good money.
But for almost four months until mid-April, Mr Li Bingxin, 39, was broke and living on the streets here.
All he had was a backpack containing clothes and some personal items.
And he kept the bad news from his family as he did not think they could cope with it.
Said Mr Li, who is married with a 15-year-old son, in Mandarin: "My parents are in their 80s and are frail. I can't let them, not even my wife, know what has happened."
Mr Li's troubles started after he had a salary dispute with his employer and quit his job at the end of last year.
He came here from Shandong province in March last year to work as a cook after paying an agent 30,000 yuan ($5,900).
The agent said he could earn at least 10,000 yuan, or about $2,000, working here, claimed Mr Li.
NO REGULAR PAY
Mr Li worked at a Chinese restaurant in Geylang and claimed that the owner had agreed to pay him $2,500 a month. But he alleged that his employer did not pay his salary regularly from the start.
"When I asked for my pay, he kept telling me not to worry and that he wouldn't cheat me," said Mr Li, adding that the employer gave him some money every now and then.
MrLi claimed that he was paid about $5,500 in total and had remitted all the money home. His employer still owes him about $18,000, including overtime pay, he claimed.
Saying that he worked up to 15 hours a day without any rest days, Mr Li added: "It was very tiring. I had headaches and backaches, and couldn't sleep well."
Mr Li said the last straw was when his employer vented his anger at him after a quarrel with his wife.
He stopped turning up for work and left the workers' quarters.
Even though another restaurant was willing to hire him at the time, the employment pass (EP) holder couldn't take the job as his former boss refused to cancel his pass, which is required by law when EP holders change employers.
On the advice of a fellow countryman, he handed in his resignation letter and lodged a police report on 7 Jan. He also filed a complaint with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
In the meantime, Mr Li roamed around every day and had no place to sleep at night.
"Sometimes I would sleep on benches, other times, I lay newspapers or cardboard boxes on the floor," he said when first interviewed.
He was attacked by dogs and had a fever for four days after being bitten by mosquitoes.
Penniless, Mr Li would turn up at hotel kitchens to ask for food.
He found out about a Sikh temple near Outram MRT station which gives out free food.
"I have to cover my head with cloth and take off my shoes before I go in," said Mr Li, adding that he was grateful.
Mr Li took occasional showers in public toilets and his only pair of shoes was worn out from walking all day.
He also borrowed $10 or $20 from acquaintances when he was desperate.
At his wits' end, Mr Li turned to migrants' welfare group Humanitarian Organisation of Migration Economics (Home) for help in late March.
It requested MOM to facilitate Mr Li's transfer of employer so that he could work again. Things moved faster after that.
When contacted in early April, an MOM spokesman confirmed receiving a complaint from him against his employer over short payment of salary.
Said the spokesman: "An inquiry was held where Mr Li and his employer settled on the payment of salary arrears.
"The employer made an initial payment but defaulted payment for the balance. A further inquiry would thus be held."
Although cancellation of the EP is usually done by the employer who applied for it, the employee may cancel it if he can produce documents to show that the employment relationship has been terminated, added the spokesman.
Once Mr Li did so, his EP was cancelled and his new employer applied for a new one for him.
Yesterday, at his new workplace, also a Chinese restaurant in Geylang, Mr Li was a different man.
"I'm feeling very good. The boss is from the same province as me, and I want to help him grow his business," said a beaming Mr Li, who started work on 16 Apr.
He earns more than $2,500 a month and lives in the workers' accommodation provided by the owner.
As the case against his former employer is still ongoing, Mr Li is hopeful he will get what is owed to him.
Meanwhile, he can't wait to get his first pay cheque next week.
"I can finally send money back to my family again," he said.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Towards first-rate workplace safety
The following article was published in the Straits Times on 2 May 2008.
Towards first-rate workplace safety
The Straits Times
2 May 2008
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke at the launch of the Workplace Safety and Health Council on Tuesday. Here is an excerpt of his address.
WE INHERITED our safety framework and legislation from the British, and made piecemeal changes to it over the years. But as our economy grew and needs evolved, there was no fundamental review to keep the system updated.
Our safety standards stagnated and accident rates remained higher than they should. There was a continuing steady flow of workplace accidents. Most were small, but each time somebody was maimed or killed, the numbers added up. And every now and again, a high-profile accident would hit the news – scaffolding collapses at a construction site, an explosion at a shipyard doing hot repair works, and in 2004 the Nicoll Highway tunnel cave-in.
Each time something happened, it was a tragedy for the worker and his family. We felt bad if it was a Singaporean worker. But even more so if it was a foreign worker, who had come all the way here at considerable expense to earn a living and support his dependants back home, but whose efforts to improve his life had instead ended in disaster for himself and his family. And many of these accidents involved foreign workers, because our safety record in construction was particularly wanting. This was on our conscience, and we needed to move quickly to make significant improvements.
We looked at the developed countries and found that the thinking on workplace safety and health had advanced dramatically. For example the British, on whom our legislation was based, had long moved on. They had evolved new principles and legislation to cope with changing practices, allocated proper responsibilities for risks at workplaces, and promoted a pervasive safety culture amongst employers and workers. Over a period of time, they had succeeded in dramatically reducing their workplace accident and fatality rates. Others like France, Germany and the US had achieved similar successes.
We looked at employers with excellent safety records. All of them took safety very seriously, and made it a command responsibility. It was not just the job of the safety officers, but of the CEO himself. For example, many MNCs had brought in advanced safety and health management systems, which they implemented in their Singapore operations. Even though they had to deal with large numbers of foreign workers, with different languages and work customs, they were able to instil good safety habits in every individual through intensive training and drilling. Safety consciousness was not just for workers, but had to be part of every level of command.
We also looked at our own SAF, which had over many years made an enormous effort to reduce vehicle and training accidents. They had worked out elaborate precautions and systems – water parades before strenuous training to prevent heat exhaustion, lightning monitoring and warning systems to minimise the risk of lightning strike, driving simulators to train national servicemen to drive safely. It took time and effort, but over the years the SAF has succeeded in bringing accident rates down.
We learnt from all of these experts, and did a complete overhaul of our safety system. We totally revamped the legislative framework with a new Workplace Safety and Health Act in 2005, and began a major programme to plug the systemic gaps and fix the shortcomings. From time to time, accidents would still occur, and we would have to deal with them. But we had developed an effective framework, with clear principles for safety management.
This would keep accident rates to a minimum, not just by responding to accidents when they occur, but by designing safety into the work processes, and pro-actively detecting and fixing unsafe practices before accidents happen.
An integral part of this new framework is the setting up of the Workplace Safety and Health Council. Workplace safety systems around the world have shown that better safety outcomes can only be achieved if all stakeholders are fully engaged.
The Council is therefore an important initiative, and I am glad that Shell Companies in Singapore chairman Lee Tzu Yang has agreed to chair it, with broad representation from employers, professional associations and the unions.
The first significant function the Council will take on is the setting of safety standards. In carrying out this function, it must be guided not by what is expedient, but by what is necessary and practical to achieve our national safety goals. Industry leaders serving on the Council have intimate knowledge about the operational challenges in each industry, and the safety procedures and requirements needed to respond to specific hazards.
Second, the Council will play a leading role in building new capabilities for workforce safety and health. For a start, it has worked with Workforce Development Agency to put in place a skills qualifications framework for workplace safety and health, leading to formal recognition of specific skills and competencies. Today, more than 50 students will graduate with Specialist Diplomas in workplace safety and health from our
polytechnics. For adult workers, we will be establishing a dedicated Continuing Education and Training institute in workplace safety and health. The institute will not just be a training provider, but also a centre for research, and a platform for collaboration between academia and industry.
The biggest challenge for the Council lies in its third area of responsibility – outreach, engagement and ultimately, changing mindsets. To bring about a quantum improvement in our safety and health outcomes, every individual must take ownership of safety issues and see this as his own responsibility.
We must convince employers that a safe and healthy workplace makes good business sense. Workplace injuries and fatalities can result in not only financial expense, but also loss of reputation. A safe workplace environment and good safety record will give workers confidence that the firm has their well-being at heart, and motivate them to perform that much better.
I am encouraged that our efforts are already starting to show results. In 2004, accidents at the workplace resulted in the loss of 83 lives or 4.9 fatalities per 100,000 workers. In 2007, we brought the fatality rate down to 2.9. We should build on this achievement, and do even better. Our original aim had been to halve the workplace fatality rate to 2.5 by 2015. This looks well within reach. I think we should set a more ambitious goal, to reduce the rate to 1.8 within a decade.
We should aim not only for as good a safety record as the developed countries, but to have one of the best workplace safety records in the world.
AIM HIGHER
In 2004, accidents at the workplace resulted in the loss of 83 lives or 4.9 fatalities per 100,000 workers. In 2007, we brought the fatality rate down to 2.9. We should build on this achievement, and do even better. Our original aim had been to halve the workplace fatality rate to 2.5 by 2015. This looks well within reach. I think we should set a more ambitious goal, to reduce the rate to 1.8 within a decade.
Towards first-rate workplace safety
The Straits Times
2 May 2008
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke at the launch of the Workplace Safety and Health Council on Tuesday. Here is an excerpt of his address.
WE INHERITED our safety framework and legislation from the British, and made piecemeal changes to it over the years. But as our economy grew and needs evolved, there was no fundamental review to keep the system updated.
Our safety standards stagnated and accident rates remained higher than they should. There was a continuing steady flow of workplace accidents. Most were small, but each time somebody was maimed or killed, the numbers added up. And every now and again, a high-profile accident would hit the news – scaffolding collapses at a construction site, an explosion at a shipyard doing hot repair works, and in 2004 the Nicoll Highway tunnel cave-in.
Each time something happened, it was a tragedy for the worker and his family. We felt bad if it was a Singaporean worker. But even more so if it was a foreign worker, who had come all the way here at considerable expense to earn a living and support his dependants back home, but whose efforts to improve his life had instead ended in disaster for himself and his family. And many of these accidents involved foreign workers, because our safety record in construction was particularly wanting. This was on our conscience, and we needed to move quickly to make significant improvements.
We looked at the developed countries and found that the thinking on workplace safety and health had advanced dramatically. For example the British, on whom our legislation was based, had long moved on. They had evolved new principles and legislation to cope with changing practices, allocated proper responsibilities for risks at workplaces, and promoted a pervasive safety culture amongst employers and workers. Over a period of time, they had succeeded in dramatically reducing their workplace accident and fatality rates. Others like France, Germany and the US had achieved similar successes.
We looked at employers with excellent safety records. All of them took safety very seriously, and made it a command responsibility. It was not just the job of the safety officers, but of the CEO himself. For example, many MNCs had brought in advanced safety and health management systems, which they implemented in their Singapore operations. Even though they had to deal with large numbers of foreign workers, with different languages and work customs, they were able to instil good safety habits in every individual through intensive training and drilling. Safety consciousness was not just for workers, but had to be part of every level of command.
We also looked at our own SAF, which had over many years made an enormous effort to reduce vehicle and training accidents. They had worked out elaborate precautions and systems – water parades before strenuous training to prevent heat exhaustion, lightning monitoring and warning systems to minimise the risk of lightning strike, driving simulators to train national servicemen to drive safely. It took time and effort, but over the years the SAF has succeeded in bringing accident rates down.
We learnt from all of these experts, and did a complete overhaul of our safety system. We totally revamped the legislative framework with a new Workplace Safety and Health Act in 2005, and began a major programme to plug the systemic gaps and fix the shortcomings. From time to time, accidents would still occur, and we would have to deal with them. But we had developed an effective framework, with clear principles for safety management.
This would keep accident rates to a minimum, not just by responding to accidents when they occur, but by designing safety into the work processes, and pro-actively detecting and fixing unsafe practices before accidents happen.
An integral part of this new framework is the setting up of the Workplace Safety and Health Council. Workplace safety systems around the world have shown that better safety outcomes can only be achieved if all stakeholders are fully engaged.
The Council is therefore an important initiative, and I am glad that Shell Companies in Singapore chairman Lee Tzu Yang has agreed to chair it, with broad representation from employers, professional associations and the unions.
The first significant function the Council will take on is the setting of safety standards. In carrying out this function, it must be guided not by what is expedient, but by what is necessary and practical to achieve our national safety goals. Industry leaders serving on the Council have intimate knowledge about the operational challenges in each industry, and the safety procedures and requirements needed to respond to specific hazards.
Second, the Council will play a leading role in building new capabilities for workforce safety and health. For a start, it has worked with Workforce Development Agency to put in place a skills qualifications framework for workplace safety and health, leading to formal recognition of specific skills and competencies. Today, more than 50 students will graduate with Specialist Diplomas in workplace safety and health from our
polytechnics. For adult workers, we will be establishing a dedicated Continuing Education and Training institute in workplace safety and health. The institute will not just be a training provider, but also a centre for research, and a platform for collaboration between academia and industry.
The biggest challenge for the Council lies in its third area of responsibility – outreach, engagement and ultimately, changing mindsets. To bring about a quantum improvement in our safety and health outcomes, every individual must take ownership of safety issues and see this as his own responsibility.
We must convince employers that a safe and healthy workplace makes good business sense. Workplace injuries and fatalities can result in not only financial expense, but also loss of reputation. A safe workplace environment and good safety record will give workers confidence that the firm has their well-being at heart, and motivate them to perform that much better.
I am encouraged that our efforts are already starting to show results. In 2004, accidents at the workplace resulted in the loss of 83 lives or 4.9 fatalities per 100,000 workers. In 2007, we brought the fatality rate down to 2.9. We should build on this achievement, and do even better. Our original aim had been to halve the workplace fatality rate to 2.5 by 2015. This looks well within reach. I think we should set a more ambitious goal, to reduce the rate to 1.8 within a decade.
We should aim not only for as good a safety record as the developed countries, but to have one of the best workplace safety records in the world.
AIM HIGHER
In 2004, accidents at the workplace resulted in the loss of 83 lives or 4.9 fatalities per 100,000 workers. In 2007, we brought the fatality rate down to 2.9. We should build on this achievement, and do even better. Our original aim had been to halve the workplace fatality rate to 2.5 by 2015. This looks well within reach. I think we should set a more ambitious goal, to reduce the rate to 1.8 within a decade.
No maid-to-order situation
The following article was published in The Straits Times on 2 May 2008.
No maid-to-order situation
By ARLINA ARSHAD
The Straits Times
02/05/2008
FOREIGN DOMESTIC WORKERS
INDONESIANS, many believe, make the best maids. They are uncomplaining, mild-mannered and obedient. They are also cheaper to hire than Filipinas, who have a tendency to "talk back''.
Except that they are getting more difficult to find because of requirements that maids should be above 23, have at least eight years of schooling and be able to pass an English-language proficiency test.
About 60 per cent of the 180,000 maids here are Indonesians, says Association of Employment Agencies of Singapore (Aeas) president Abdul Jalil Aliyar Razzy. Since 2005, when those requirements kicked in, the number of biodatas, or documents profiling potential maid candidates, that maid agents get from Indonesia has dropped by 70 to 80 per cent.
While the supply is not quite drying up, maid recruiters are wary of the risks of bringing over the women. A survey of 20 maid agents says that bringing over an Indonesian maid costs $2,000, twice the amount a year ago.
Indonesian maid recruiters, who share a portion of this sum with agents, say it is to cover airfare, training, meals, lodging – and "unique Singapore requirements" like English lessons. Recruiter Asih Rahayu of PT Handalan in Jakarta says: "Lessons cost money. Just imagine the costs we have to bear if she fails her English test and has to be sent back?"
Maids under 23 are sent to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and the Middle East, where the minimum age is 21.
An agency, Angellink, claims it turns away two to three potential employers a day because they wish to hire only Indonesians. The English test is difficult and it is not uncommon to see Indonesians in tears before sitting for their tests. There is no breakdown by nationality but the Manpower Ministry (MOM) says that more than 95 per cent of first-time maids pass the entry test.
Maid agents want the rules eased. But we should remember why the rules were introduced in the first place: to raise the quality of maids and to protect them.
It is the obedient Indonesian maid who seems to get the short end of the stick from Singapore employers. Language barriers can in fact aggravate relationships in the household, resulting in abuse.
One other way to get more domestic workers is to hire from non-traditional sources. Besides Indonesia and the Philippines, women from Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand can work here as maids. But Aeas, which represents more than 400 agents, thinks the list is not long enough.
Mr Abdul Jalil told The Straits Times that Aeas submitted a request to MOM last September for permission to hire from Cambodia, where people have few dietary restrictions and are mostly Buddhists, like many Singaporeans.
Agents cite as an example Malaysia, which hires maids from Laos, Nepal and Vietnam. So why can't Singapore?
It looks like an easy enough solution but we should consider the effect of having someone from a different culture working in the home. We hired maids from China some years ago before quietly stopping it.
Mr Jolovan Wham, the executive director of foreign workers' welfare group Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics, thinks it is not a question of where maids come from but how the host country treats them.
"No matter from which country we source domestic workers, if we don't treat them well, the worker will not want to work here. We should not be having this attitude: Filipinas talk back and are rebellious, so we don't want them."
Filipinas are the second choice among employers here. But Singapore is not the first choice of Filipinas either. Only one-third of the maids here are Filipinas.
Why work here for $380 a month when employers in Hong Kong and Taiwan will pay twice that sum? Households seeking maids might well have to pay market rates. They might have to offer other employment "benefits'' too, such as days off, if they want to compete for their share of maids.
Unifem Singapore president Saleemah Ismail believes there is no lack of women in the region wanting to work as domestic helpers. But they know their rights – such as fair wages and days off – and they are turning to countries that grant them those rights.
Singapore households are not the only maid employers in the region. There are employers elsewhere who pay maids better – and treat them better too.
No maid-to-order situation
By ARLINA ARSHAD
The Straits Times
02/05/2008
FOREIGN DOMESTIC WORKERS
INDONESIANS, many believe, make the best maids. They are uncomplaining, mild-mannered and obedient. They are also cheaper to hire than Filipinas, who have a tendency to "talk back''.
Except that they are getting more difficult to find because of requirements that maids should be above 23, have at least eight years of schooling and be able to pass an English-language proficiency test.
About 60 per cent of the 180,000 maids here are Indonesians, says Association of Employment Agencies of Singapore (Aeas) president Abdul Jalil Aliyar Razzy. Since 2005, when those requirements kicked in, the number of biodatas, or documents profiling potential maid candidates, that maid agents get from Indonesia has dropped by 70 to 80 per cent.
While the supply is not quite drying up, maid recruiters are wary of the risks of bringing over the women. A survey of 20 maid agents says that bringing over an Indonesian maid costs $2,000, twice the amount a year ago.
Indonesian maid recruiters, who share a portion of this sum with agents, say it is to cover airfare, training, meals, lodging – and "unique Singapore requirements" like English lessons. Recruiter Asih Rahayu of PT Handalan in Jakarta says: "Lessons cost money. Just imagine the costs we have to bear if she fails her English test and has to be sent back?"
Maids under 23 are sent to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and the Middle East, where the minimum age is 21.
An agency, Angellink, claims it turns away two to three potential employers a day because they wish to hire only Indonesians. The English test is difficult and it is not uncommon to see Indonesians in tears before sitting for their tests. There is no breakdown by nationality but the Manpower Ministry (MOM) says that more than 95 per cent of first-time maids pass the entry test.
Maid agents want the rules eased. But we should remember why the rules were introduced in the first place: to raise the quality of maids and to protect them.
It is the obedient Indonesian maid who seems to get the short end of the stick from Singapore employers. Language barriers can in fact aggravate relationships in the household, resulting in abuse.
One other way to get more domestic workers is to hire from non-traditional sources. Besides Indonesia and the Philippines, women from Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand can work here as maids. But Aeas, which represents more than 400 agents, thinks the list is not long enough.
Mr Abdul Jalil told The Straits Times that Aeas submitted a request to MOM last September for permission to hire from Cambodia, where people have few dietary restrictions and are mostly Buddhists, like many Singaporeans.
Agents cite as an example Malaysia, which hires maids from Laos, Nepal and Vietnam. So why can't Singapore?
It looks like an easy enough solution but we should consider the effect of having someone from a different culture working in the home. We hired maids from China some years ago before quietly stopping it.
Mr Jolovan Wham, the executive director of foreign workers' welfare group Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics, thinks it is not a question of where maids come from but how the host country treats them.
"No matter from which country we source domestic workers, if we don't treat them well, the worker will not want to work here. We should not be having this attitude: Filipinas talk back and are rebellious, so we don't want them."
Filipinas are the second choice among employers here. But Singapore is not the first choice of Filipinas either. Only one-third of the maids here are Filipinas.
Why work here for $380 a month when employers in Hong Kong and Taiwan will pay twice that sum? Households seeking maids might well have to pay market rates. They might have to offer other employment "benefits'' too, such as days off, if they want to compete for their share of maids.
Unifem Singapore president Saleemah Ismail believes there is no lack of women in the region wanting to work as domestic helpers. But they know their rights – such as fair wages and days off – and they are turning to countries that grant them those rights.
Singapore households are not the only maid employers in the region. There are employers elsewhere who pay maids better – and treat them better too.
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