Channel NewsAsia
14 Mei 2007
SINGAPORE: Come July 1, it may get more expensive to hire an Indonesian domestic worker.
Under plans to raise the minimum wage for its overseas workers, the Indonesian government said it will increase this figure to $350 — or 1.9 million rupiah — a month for those working in Singapore.
This is 25 per cent higher than the current wage of $280 — a figure that has not changed for more than 10 years.
"We won't send workers if the provisions are not followed," said Mr Jumhur Hidayat, the head of the National Agency for Indonesian Overseas Workers Placement and Protection, according to the Tempo newspaper on Friday.
The wages, he said, was set following discussions between the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore, the TKI service company and maid agents in Singapore.
However, enforcing this minimum wage policy may be easier said than done, said agents here.
"It will be hard to enforce it legally, unless the Ministry of Manpower introduces a minimum wage system for maid agencies to follow," Mr Desmond Ding, owner of maid agency SG Manpower Employment Services, told TODAY.
A ministry spokesman said there is no minimum wage set for foreign domestic workers here. The market forces determine the wages, and the terms and conditions of each contract are up to the employer and maid, she said.
A similar move by the Philippines government to raise the minimum wages of Filipino maids to US$400 ($608) from March 1 — up from $300 to $350 — didn't have much impact, said agents.
Said one agency owner: "I don't know of any Filipino maid being paid the minimum of US$400."
If anything, the new rules will affect new domestic workers from Indonesia — Singapore's largest source of maids — rather than those already working here.
As the employers' consent must be given to transfer a maid, the employer has the upper hand when it comes to these contract discussions, said Mr Ding, citing instances where maids have been given an ultimatum to either accept lower wages or be sent back home.
But several agents hope employers embrace the higher wages.
"The current salary, $280, is too low. This increase is fair," said Workforce Recruitment Centre owner Wilson Wong.
Maids here are paid much lower than their counterparts in Hong Kong, who can earn as much as $700 a month. - TODAY/ra
By Joseph Yadao, TODAY | Posted: 14 May 2007 1115 hrs
