SINGAPORE: Maid agents in Singapore are looking to
hire more foreign domestic helpers from Sri
Lanka.
From next year, the Association of Employment
Agencies plans to bring in between 500 and 1,000 Sri Lankan maids a
month, up from the current 100 to 200 a month.
Based on records from the Sri Lankan High Commission
in Singapore, there are about 4,500 Sri Lankan maids here.
The association said this will help to make up for the shortfall in
maids from traditional source countries, such as Indonesia and
Philippines.
It will be signing an agreement with Sri Lankan authorities and
employment agencies next month to facilitate the recruitment of
maids.
The move to bring in more domestic helpers from Sri Lanka is part
of efforts to improve the quality of domestic helpers here.
Most of the Sri Lankan maids speak English and have at least 10
years of education. About 40 per cent of them have 'A' level
qualifications.
Employment agencies here said it is important to make Singapore an
attractive destination for Sri Lankan women hoping to work as
domestic helpers overseas.
K Jayaprema, the president of the Association of Employment
Agencies said: "It's very important that when we are reviving this
new market, we don't want it to go wrong because we are focusing on
attracting quality FDWs (foreign domestic workers) to Singapore and
for that to happen, we need to have good employment terms, the
welfare of the domestic workers have to be taken care of and it
must be attractive for them to come in."
A J Razzy, director of maid agency Cobb Douglas said: "There are
some things that have changed for example, with the scrapping of
the entry test, there are many more opportunities for agents at Sri
Lanka to recruit Sri Lankan foreign domestic workers for the
Singapore market."
The association is working with Sri Lankan authorities to spell out
training requirements for maids, and speed up the hiring
process.
Sri Lanka has an extensive training programme of more than 20 days
for maids.
Singapore maid agents would like the programme to focus more on
aspects such as household skills and safety.
Ms Jayaprema said that the processing time for recruitment of these
maids could be faster.
The Association of Employment Agencies led a delegation of 30 maid
agents to Sri Lanka recently to renew contacts with their
counterparts.
It met with the Sri Lankan Bureau for Foreign Employment, which is
the regulatory body for overseas recruitment of workers, and the
Sri Lankan Foreign Employment Agency.
In addition, the association met over 60 Sri Lankan recruitment
agencies. The last time the association organised a visit there was
in 2007.
Maid agents say Sri Lankan workers can between S$400 and S$500 a
month.
Sri Lanka is the fifth biggest source of maids in Singapore after
Indonesia, the Philippines, India and Myanmar.
A recent report from the National Population and Talent Division
forecast that Singapore is going to need some 100,000 more maids by
2030.
Muniyandi Vasanthakumari has been working as a domestic helper in
Singapore for 15 years. The 45-year-old Sri Lankan is happy here
and gets along well with her employer's family.
"She reads what we want, she knows our preference and she does it
beforehand. Before I can tell her what I need, it's already done,"
said her employer Komathi Anbalahan.
- CNA/xq