LAST year, the Manpower Ministry (MOM) recovered more than $270,000 in
unpaid salaries for 276 maids.
Since 2007, three employers, including Zubaidah Sanluan, have been
convicted for failing to pay salaries to their foreign domestic
workers.
According to MOM, on Oct 31 last year, Yeo Boey Hiang was fined $2,500
for failing to pay her maid's salary for more than a year: A total of
$6,340.
On Jan 8 this year, Ravichandran Ghandhi Raju was fined $2,500 for
failing to pay his maid for 14 months, an amount of $2,204.
Mr Lanang Seputro, the Indonesian Embassy's first secretary, told The
Straits Times yesterday that he sees about 15 cases of unpaid salaries
a month. Each maid is owed between several months and two years of
pay.
'Indonesian maids shy away from asking for their outstanding salaries
too often. Perhaps it's the cultural background. Maybe they feel that
the employers have financial problems so, they wait.'
From March to December last year, the embassy helped to mediate in 103
cases, including Miss Sukarti's. In monetary terms, this translated to
$126,111.75 in all.
'More than half got their full salaries back. After that, we arrange
for them to be repatriated,' he said.
Employers who fail to pay their maids within seven days of their
salary period can be fined up to $5,000, jailed up to six months, or
both if convicted.
Mr John Gee, president of Transient Workers Count Too, an advocacy
group for migrant workers, said the fine should be raised to one-third
of the salary arrears.
'With recalcitrant employers, you need to make penalties enough to
tell others who are like-minded they can't play this game...you can't
expect a person to work without payment. That's a form of slavery.'
