SINGAPORE : The salaries of new Indonesian foreign
domestic workers will soon rise.
17 major employment agencies in Singapore will
increase the monthly salaries for the workers from S$380 to S$450.
The increment will take effect by this week, they
said.
Over the years, the supply of Indonesian maids in
Singapore has been dwindling.
Employment agencies indicated that the shortage was
due largely to demand from places such as Hong Kong and
Taiwan.
The agencies recently met maid suppliers from
Indonesia to try and resolve the issue. One solution is to provide
better salaries.
Desmond Chin, group director, Nation Employment, said: "All the
suppliers, they're facing difficult conditions to recruit. They are
requesting us to match the maid's salary to HK$650, to match the
salary to T$800, which is right now impossible.
"Maybe, we can do it step by step. So right now, we have agreed
with the Indonesian supplier for the salary of S$450."
Many employment agencies in Singapore support the move.
The higher salary will not benefit the agencies or the suppliers,
as there will be no change in the foreign placement fee.
Employment agencies said the change can help remove unhealthy
practices among the agencies.
Tay Khoon Beng, director, Best Home Employment Agency, said: "If we
don't have enough supply to applicants in the first place,
eventually more and more agencies will poach one another's maids
and offer 10 and 20 dollars increase in salary and transfer these
helpers among Singaporean employers and this is even a worse
scenario for us."
Employment agencies said it is up to employers to increase the
salary of existing maids. They are also wary of the possibility of
a small group of maids who may try to terminate their contracts so
that they can be re-employed with the better salary.
Some employers feel any salary increase has to be gradual.
Samuel Teo, an employer of an Indonesian maid, said: "The other
thing is that I also feel that, of course, when you pay more,
you're expecting a very high quality from the maid. Will the maid
be able to deliver?"
More than 70 per cent of maids working in Singapore are Indonesians
and employment agencies said demand for these maids is still
strong.
With the proposed salary increase for Indonesian maids, employment
agencies also hope to increase the retention rate, giving them the
incentive to work longer in Singapore.
- CNA/al
