Stop hiring Indonesian maids directly

The following report is published in the Straits Times on 6 Feb 2012.

'Stop hiring Indonesian maids directly'

Jakarta says lack of records makes it hard to contact next-of-kinin crisis


By Amelia Tan
THE Indonesian government wants Singapore employers to stop hiring maids directly, as the absence of records can make it hard to contact their domestic helpers' next-of-kin in an emergency.

Indonesian Embassy counsellor Sukmo Yuwono told The Straits Times that Indonesian Labour Ministry records show that about 36,000 - or 30 per cent of the 120,000 Indonesian maids in Singapore - were hired by employers who did not engage agents.

These 36,000 maids had either completed their two-year stints and decided to renew their contracts, or found their first job in Singapore through recommendations of friends.

Mr Sukmo said agents in Singapore and Indonesia have to update the Indonesian Labour Ministry online database with the personal particulars of every maid they recruit as part of licensing conditions for maid agencies set by Jakarta.


A BIG ISSUE

120,000

Number of Indonesian maids hired in Singapore

36,000

Number of Indonesian maids employed directly by employers

$1,600

Agency fee for hiring new Indonesian maid

$100

Agency fee for renewal of Indonesian maid's contract

No weekly day off for most new maids

No weekly day off for most new maids

Bosses prefer compensating them instead in first 3-4 months of work. -ST
Amelia Tan

Sat, Jan 26, 2013
The Straits Times

SINGAPORE - The majority of employers are not giving newly hired maids a weekly day off despite a rule mandating this kicking in from Jan 1.

This means they are instead opting to give additional compensation for the days off to maids hired, or who have their work permits renewed, from Jan 1.

A check with six maid agents showed that about 70 per cent of their combined 400 or so customers hiring maids this month will probably not give any rest day at all in the first three to four months of work.

But the bulk of these employers have agreed that if the maids continue to perform well after this initial period, they may agree to give at least a day off a month.

The agents said bosses view the first three to four months as a probation period to gauge performance and if the maids can be trusted not to fall into bad company when they go out.

Some agents said they also discourage maids from asking for a day off in their first few months of work as they would still be unfamiliar with Singapore and would not have much money to spend.

Employers have to fork out about $70, on top of the maids' basic pay of about $450, to get them to work on the four rest days they are entitled to a month.

That works out to $17.50 for each day off. Some agencies are also getting employers to pay above the market rate, or about $20, for each day off that their maids work. The agents hope the move will make employers feel the pinch and prompt more of them to give their maids days off.

Comfort Employment director Benny Liew said: "Other workers are paid more for working on weekends or rest days to recognise their efforts. Such a practice should be extended to maids too."

Agents pointed out that maids hired before Jan 1 are also asking for rest days but employers are not budging so far.

Orange Employment Agency owner Shirley Ng said employers are unwilling to relent "because this has been the practice all these years". It will take time to change their mindset, she added.

Bosses willing to grant time off said they do so to improve workers' employment terms and retain them.

Housewife Esther Law, 45, did not give her Indonesian maid, Ms Anjar Sari, 27, any days off for the last two years.

But the latter will get two Sundays off a month from next month as part of the terms in the new contract which she will sign next week.

She will be compensated for the other two Sundays worked.

Said Madam Law: "I want her to have a good rest after working hard. If she is happier, she will stay on to work for me."

There are 208,400 maids in Singapore, with most from Indonesia and the Philippines.

Expectations of a good maid

Sharing this email I received recently :

"Dear Tamarind

I am Nania, an Indonesian who is studying in Singapore. Other Indonesian students in Singapore and I are preparing a guide book for Indonesians who wish to work in Singapore as domestic helpers.

I stumbled upon your blog when I was doing some researches online. After reading some posts, I think that it is very important for the helpers to understand the expectations that the Singaporeans have and also the culture here. As I am new in Singapore, I will be very grateful if you are willing to help me about this. From your experience, you may kindly want to share with me what kind of helpers that Singaporeans want. "

My expectations are as follows. A good maid should be able to do the following :
1) fully understand all my instructions in English, and ask questions to clarify any doubt
2) remember all my instructions, and take her own initiative to copy down in a notebook if she thinks that she may forget something
3) do not question why I want things to be done in a certain way, she should understand that this is my home not hers
4) show respect to me and my parents
5) does not need to be cheerful all the time but should not always show a gloomy face
6) try not to make the same mistake again, if she cannot remember, she should write down in her notebook and remind herself everyday
7) should try her best to complete all the tasks assigned to her, she should tell me frankly if she thinks that she cannot cope. She should not play tricks like hiding in the bathroom for long periods of time, or taking a very long time to do a simple task.
8) follow all my house rules without any complaints
9) have good personal hygiene
10) take good care of my household items and try her best not to break anything
11) able to clean the floor properly, wash dishes and clothes without leaving any stains behind
12) able to cook for herself


The above is definitely not too much to ask from a maid.  My maid is able to do all the above, and she is still happily working for me after 6 years.  The expectations of my own employer are the same except for number 11 and 12.  My office has a long list of house rules, and I don't even dare to complain if I cannot cope with my work.

Employers, please feel free to share your expectations of a good maid.

Maid agents upset over move to issue biodata form

The following article was published in the Straits Times on Sep 16 2012.

Highlight from the article :

Employers pay maid agencies a lot of money to employ maids, why is it unfair to make them responsible for providing accurate biodata ?

Is it fair for employers to be cheated by false biodata for so many years ? MOM has finally realized the problem that maid agencies tend to tell lies in order to "sell" their maids. However, how are they going to ensure that the new "standard biodata" really contains accurate information ?  It is just a piece of paper, and maid agencies can continue to write false information on it.

The employment history and remarks from previous employers can also be easily made up by the maid agencies.  MOM has forgotten that maid agencies always want to make money. If there are bad comments from previous employers, who will take the maid ?

Just like the mandatory weekly off day and no cleaning of windows, MOM seem to always come up with regulations which they cannot enforce.

Only MOM can ensure that the biodata of every maid is accurate. MOM should allow all employers to write comments for their maids, and allow all prospective employers to read the comments of the maid on the MOM website. Currently MOM website already allows employers to check the employment history of the maid, it should be very easy to add the extra functionality of writing and viewing comments.  Instead of working on this function, MOM pushes responsibilities to the maid agencies instead.  The maid agencies then threaten to increase costs for employers. Employers are already paying about $1000+ of agency fees. Now we have to pay even more to ensure "accurate biodata" ?

Employers may seek maids from elsewhere

The following article is published in the New Paper on 15 Sep 2012.

Highlight from the article :

If employers have to pay the placement fees for Filipino maids, I believe that very few employers, perhaps only the very rich and expats, will want to employ them.

If a Filipino maid works in her home country, her salary is only about 3000 to 5000 pesos (SGD 93 to SGD 155) monthly (Source)  The Phillipines government only pay their teachers an average of P15649 a month, that is about SGD460 (Source)  Filipino teachers would rather go to Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan to work as maids. Is their government really helping their people ?

What to do when your maid runs away

The following is contributed by another employer. Linda, thank you very much !

Linda said...

Hi Tamarind,

Just an update after my post in June on my runaway Phillipine maid. She has since been repatriated on 16 July 2012 and my replacement has arrived 2 weeks after that.

Overall lesson learnt: Be patient.
1. MOM acts fairly quickly once such matters are brought to their attention. As per Employment Act, Employer is responsible for repatriation costs and MOM will set a timeline( not more than 14 days) for agency/employer to repatriate the maid.

2. Before that happens, try to reach an amicable resolution with maid or maid agency for outstanding loans. Coz, once the maid leaves the country, employer lose leverage against the maid agency. MOM gives pressure on Agency to repatriate maid and Agency will in turn "chase" employer to do so. I leveraged on this and refused to cancel the work permit until a resolution is achieved with the agency. NOTE: There is no regulation that states that Employer must repatriate maid within XX days if maid is in custody of embassy (unless abuse or break the law). When MOM officer inform me that I am to cancel work permit and repatriate the maid within 14 days, I responded that I may not do so within 14 days as I am still in the midst of settlement with agency and will only cancel wp when an amicable resolution is achieved. MOM officer did not say I cannot do so and requested me to update her if I am unable to cancel the wp within 14 days.

Outstanding Loan: I managed to reach an agreement with the agency to split the balance loan by 50-50 after issuing them a letter via CASE. Agency was adamant initially that there will be no refund but as I had signed up for a replacement maid before the maid ran away, I "appealed" for amicable settlement via CASE as I am a continuing customer. Lucky for me, the agency however reluctantly they are, had "compromised" in the end and shared the costs.**

MOM:
- Despite numerous emails, I only receive respond from MOM after I left message on MOM fb.
Lesson No. 1: Use fb for fast respond.
- MOM as per SOP couldnt intervene with regards to the balance loan and referred me to AEAS & CASE. However, AEAS being an association for employment agency responded negatively and referred me to CASE.
Lesson No. 2: If maid agency respond negatively, go straight to CASE, pay S$15 and issue request/appeal letter via CASE for faster resolution.
- After MOM took up my case, MOM contacted the Embassy and maid agency. A day later, the runaway maid lodged a complain of abuse against me at MOM!! However as I managed to contact and inform MOM of this matter before that, MOM had some history and investigation took only 1 day. The maid had actually dug her own grave with her "complain" as her complains were found to be "petty and invalid" by the MOM investigation officer.
Lesson No. 3: Keep MOM informed of the dates, events, contacts of embassy, agency for faster resolution.

Refund of Levy: There is an application form at CPF website for refund of maid levy for the duration that maid is not with employer (At embassy, police, etc..) Just obtain letter from embassy to prove that maid is in their custody and attach to the application. I got the refund!

** Maid agency is Labour E***. I would not recommend this agency as they did not attempt to mitigate/intervene at all. They also failed to advise what are the steps I can take to mitigate myself; like visiting embassy personnally. They merely insist that I pay up loan for replacement maid in full before they fly the replacement maid in! Person in charge acted like a gangster on the phone after receipt of letter from CASE. Furthermore they couldnt advise me on levy refunds and I had to search internet to know that I am eligible.

Pay more for Indonesian maids from November

The following article is published in the Straits Times on 13 August 2012.

Pay more for Indonesian maids from November

By Amelia Tan
HIRING an Indonesian maid will be more expensive by year's end.

Employers hiring such maids from November will have to sign a contract with a clause stipulating that the maid must be paid at least $450.

Another clause will state that if she works on all her four weekly rest days each month, she has to be paid another $70, or $17.50 for each day off she works.

These two clauses will be in the contracts issued by the Indonesian government. But how far they will go to ensure Indonesian maids are compensated fairly depends on the rigour of enforcement - and the Indonesian Embassy's record in this has been patchy.

Nonetheless, embassy counsellor Sukmo Yuwono stressed that the embassy will from now on take a tough stance on its minimum-salary guidelines, and employers and maid agents who flout the terms of the contract will be barred from hiring and recruiting Indonesian maids.

Contracts now in force already state maids must be paid a minimum of $450 a month, but this clause has hardly been enforced.

It is an uphill task to get maid agents here and the recruiters in Indonesia to play by the rules.

The Straits Times reported last week that Singapore agents have been working with their Indonesian partners to circumvent the policy pertaining to the sharing of the cost of recruiting and training these maids, which was introduced by Jakarta on May 1; about 260 Indonesian maids were brought in through the "back door" as a result.

Add to this Singapore's lack of a minimum wage policy for maids; salaries, fixed by market forces, have settled in the $420 to $450 range for Indonesian maids.

Contracts by the Philippine government state that their maids are to be paid at least US$400 ($498), but Filipino maids generally get $420 to $450 a month.

Maid agents say some maids, grateful to have a job, do not complain if they get less than the stipulated sum; others are too afraid to complain.

Current contracts are silent on how much Indonesian maids should be paid for working on their day off, which now comes once a month.

Mr Sukmo said that with the new contract spelling out that maids are to be paid $70 if they work on all four of their days off in a month, Jakarta is aligning its policies with those of Singapore's.

The Government here announced this year that employers taking on new maids and those whose maids are renewing their work permits from Jan 1 must give their maids a day off every week.

The Government said employers can pay their maids for working on their days off, but the agreement must be in black and white.

There are some 206,000 foreign maids in Singapore, and about half of them are from Indonesia.

Mr Sukmo said all Singapore-bound maids will be told of the $450 minimum salary they should get.

He added: "I'll investigate each case, and not hesitate to suspend agents and employers who do not follow the rules."

The names of offending agents and employers will go into the Indonesian government's online database, which lists the particulars of maids, employers, maid agents, training centres and recruiters.

Some maid agency representatives here expressed doubt about the enforceability of the clauses.

Some pointed out that Indonesian recruiters and maid agencies here have sealed deals to under- pay the maids they bring in.

Orange Employment Agency owner Shirley Ng said: "Adequate policing must be done in both countries to ensure a level playing field for all agents. Some employers are drawn to certain agencies because their maids ask for less."

Mr Benny Liew of Comfort Employment said, however, that the higher salary enshrined in the clauses may attract higher-quality and experienced maids.

Not all employers try to get a maid on the cheap; some say they are prepared to pay more for experienced, self-starting maids.

Jeweller Eileen Tjandra, 42, gives her Indonesian maid a monthly day off and pays her $520 a month - above the market rate for experienced maids.

She said: "My maid is responsible and requires minimal supervision. I'll give her a $30 raise in the next few months to reward her good performance."

My message to the Prime Minister

I posted the following on the Prime Minister's facebook page, under the Father's Day post, on 20 Jun 2012.

Dear Mr Lee,
If you want to boost the birth rate, you must understand that working mothers need help. Not money, not maternity leave. We need someone to help look after the kids, cook and clean. The fact is that most fathers are not helping, because they are also very busy and have to work long hours. It is not fair to expect women to shoulder all the burden of childcare and work at the same time. If we can have good maids to help us, I am sure that many Singaporean women will choose to have more babies. Having childcare centers does not help because mothers still have to rush home to cook dinner and clean. Most of us are not superwomen. This is the reason why the birth rate is going down.

The Ministry of Manpower is not helping the employers of FDWs. The tragic story posted above is a good exampe. We employ maids without any knowledge of their past work history. This is a big risk, but many parents have no choice. MOM ignored our problems despite numerous feedback on their facebook page.

I sincerely hope that you can understand our problems. Otherwise the birth rate will continue to fall.


It has been 2 days since I posted the above comments. No reply. I posted the following comment today (22 Jun 2012).


Dear Mr Lee,
I sincerely hope that you have time to read these comments, or your admin staff can highlight our comments to you. Specialneeds Sg needs help. Full time working mothers like us, struggling to manage family and work every day, need help.  Your ministers and MPs have consistently ignored our problems.  That is why we are posting directly on your facebook page.

You said in May 2012 :  "Singaporeans will always be our priority. This is the purpose of all our policies."

MOM policies are very unfair to employers. Read this page :
http://singaporemaid.blogspot.sg/2011/12/singaporean-employers-face-unfair.html

MOM's priority is clearly the foreign maids, not employers.  We are Singaporeans, and we deserve to be treated fairly.

79.2% of employers have voted in 24 April that our concerns are being overlooked :
http://singaporemaid.blogspot.sg/2012/04/vote-are-employers-concerns-being.html

As citizens of Singapore, we deserve an explanation from you.

Jakarta policy riles maid agents in Singapore

The following news report is published in the Straits Times on 18 Jun 2012.

Jakarta policy riles maid agents in Singapore

By Amelia Tan
Maid agents - unhappy with a new policy by the Indonesian government that bars agencies from earning commission from maids - hope to resolve the issue with the Indonesian Embassy here.

They want the president of the Association of Employment Agencies (Singapore) (AEAS), Ms K. Jayaprema, to meet the embassy officials.

The agents said the officials should come out to say that Singapore agents can charge Indonesian maids commission and not face repercussions such as being blacklisted by the embassy.

If the embassy does not do this, the agents said they will have to pass on the cost of the commission, which generally ranges from 11/2 to two months of a maid's salary, to employers.

Employers will likely baulk at having to pay, say the agents, who added that they cannot absorb the fees as it will cause a huge dent in their profit margins.

An Indonesian maid earns about $450 a month.

Mr Sukmo Yuwono, a counsellor at the Indonesian Embassy here, said in response to queries from The Straits Times that Jakarta 'does not encourage' maid agencies here to charge the maids commission but is aware that it would be difficult to enforce Indonesian government regulations here.

He added: 'If the maid agencies in Singapore want to charge maids fees for their services, they must get the Indonesian recruiters and maids to agree to it.'

In a further sign of their unhappiness, about 40 maid agents have signed a letter requesting that the management committee of AEAS hold an extraordinary general meeting to discuss the association's stand on the issue.

Ms Jayaprema responded in an e-mail last week that she will do so at a date to be confirmed.

The new guideline implemented by the Indonesian government on May 1 is part of broader changes introduced to bring down the costs incurred by maids when they look for a job overseas.

Under the previous system, Singapore agents could charge Indonesian maids placement fees to cover costs such as advice and housing before an employer is found - but they cannot do so now.

The agents said they are entitled to these fees as the Employment Agencies Act states that employment agencies in Singapore can charge the worker a fee not exceeding one month of the salary, for each year of the duration of the work pass or employment contract. The total amount they can charge must not exceed two months of the worker's salary.

Maids work on two-year contracts.

The rule changes have led to a slowdown in the supply of Indonesian maids and are raising frustration among agents.

Vine Employment Agency owner Yong W.P., who rallied other agents to request for the extraordinary general meeting, said: 'It is unfair not to get paid for our services. If the maid has problems, agents spend time counselling both her and her employer.'

Mr Karl Tan, who owns Inter-Mares agency, said: 'We will have to pass on the cost to employers. And the increased costs will shock employers.'

A spokesman for the Ministry of Manpower noted that while source countries may choose to impose additional requirements, 'employers and employment agencies should assess whether they can fulfil these conditions when choosing which source country to bring workers from'.

There are now some 206,000 maids here and about half of them are from Indonesia.