Malaysian official: Indonesian maids staying away due to low wages
The Associated Press
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Indonesian maids are staying away from Malaysia due to low wages and Indonesian agents unhappy with low recruitment fees, a government minister said Monday.
An average of 1,000 Indonesian maids enter Malaysia each month, but the number has recently dropped "quite a lot," Home Affairs Minister Radzi Sheikh Ahmad told reporters. He did not give figures.
"The maids have not been encouraged by the Indonesian agents to come here. They also believe that our wages are much less than offered by other countries such as Hong Kong and Singapore."
Radzi said Indonesian maids are paid an average of 400 ringgit (US$114; €83) a month in Malaysia, but can make more than twice that in neighboring Singapore.
Indonesian agents had also complained they earned only an estimated profit of 460 ringgit (US$135, €99) from each maid, compared to 630 ringgit (US$185, €135) made by a Malaysian agent, he said.
The reduced availability of Indonesian maids has led to some Malaysian employers paying agents up to 6,000 ringgit (US$1,765, €1,288) to recruit a maid, compared to around 3,500 ringgit (US$1,176, €858) recommended by the government, Radzi said.
He said he will meet soon with Indonesian labor authorities to see how they could best resolve the issue. The two countries have an agreement to protect maids — but it does not stipulate any minimum wage, holidays or overtime pay, he said.
"It's up to the employers," Radzi said. "We don't want to be restricted to too many laws and regulations to protect maids."
He said Malaysia is turning to other countries such as India, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan for maids.
More than 300,000 Indonesian now work as housemaids in Malaysia.
Malaysia relies heavily on foreign laborers for menial work, and Indonesians form the bulk of the domestic work force.
An average of 1,000 Indonesian maids enter Malaysia each month, but the number has recently dropped "quite a lot," Home Affairs Minister Radzi Sheikh Ahmad told reporters. He did not give figures.
"The maids have not been encouraged by the Indonesian agents to come here. They also believe that our wages are much less than offered by other countries such as Hong Kong and Singapore."
Radzi said Indonesian maids are paid an average of 400 ringgit (US$114; €83) a month in Malaysia, but can make more than twice that in neighboring Singapore.
Indonesian agents had also complained they earned only an estimated profit of 460 ringgit (US$135, €99) from each maid, compared to 630 ringgit (US$185, €135) made by a Malaysian agent, he said.
The reduced availability of Indonesian maids has led to some Malaysian employers paying agents up to 6,000 ringgit (US$1,765, €1,288) to recruit a maid, compared to around 3,500 ringgit (US$1,176, €858) recommended by the government, Radzi said.
He said he will meet soon with Indonesian labor authorities to see how they could best resolve the issue. The two countries have an agreement to protect maids — but it does not stipulate any minimum wage, holidays or overtime pay, he said.
"It's up to the employers," Radzi said. "We don't want to be restricted to too many laws and regulations to protect maids."
He said Malaysia is turning to other countries such as India, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan for maids.
More than 300,000 Indonesian now work as housemaids in Malaysia.
Malaysia relies heavily on foreign laborers for menial work, and Indonesians form the bulk of the domestic work force.
4 comments:
Yep, we (Khmers) will take any job,
and anyone lost our jobs is dead
meat.
So what is your job?
Cleaning Hun Sen's toilet?
No, he clean the sewage of Ah Hun Xen, the way his talking smell.
Hey, money is money to me. Do you
think I care whether I sweep floor,
clean public bathroom, or drive
the cyclo?
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