Indonesian Maids

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 Imagine living on 125MYR a week!!

From today's NST:

Hiring of Indonesian maids to resume soon

2010/02/01

GEORGE TOWN: The freeze on the supply of Indonesian maids to Malaysia is expected to be lifted this month.
Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam is hopeful a meeting with Indonesia this month will resolve the issue.

He said Malaysians could hire Indonesian maids when their salary packages were finalised.

"Our aim is to reduce the salaries Malaysians have to pay for the maids. We have held two meetings with them and hope to reach an amicable solution soon," Dr Subramaniam said.

Indonesian maids account for 80 per cent of the 280,000 foreign domestic helpers in the country. They receive a salary of between RM500 and RM600 a month.

Indonesia stopped the supply of maids to Malaysia in June last year in a move to obtain higher pay for them.

Subramaniam was speaking after attending the opening of the state MIC service centre at Jalan Datuk Keramat and the launch of the state MIC website here yesterday.

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hi,

GEORGE TOWN: The freeze on the supply of Indonesian maids to Malaysia is expected to be lifted this month.
Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam is hopeful a meeting with Indonesia this month will resolve the issue.

"Freeze on the supply," the article says. So they've all been in cold storage on a container ship in the Malacca Straits? It always seems better not to talk about folks as if they were real people. Just shows how crap things must be in Indonesia.

Maids in Malaysia don't get time off. It's 24/7 for 52 weeks. It's only a couple of years ago when Singaporeans were forced to give maids a day off per month. There was an outcry that it was the end of the world as it was then known. After all, part of the against argument was what could the maids actually do with a day off? They'd just cause trouble and get pregnant.

Mean, that's what a lot of people are, downright mean. 

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Without wishing to inflame anyone, I am interested in the views of forum members on the pactice of imported labour as used in Malaysia and many other countries.
Is it economic slavery at the one extreme or is it a way of sharing wealth. Does it really benefit the workers or is it it a form of economic protectionism that pollutes the fundamental principles that jobs would in any event flow to poorer countries if the labour costs in the devloped countries are higher.

I must confess to having very mixed views on this subject. At its simplest it is a means of people from poorer countries obtaining a modest income to support their families. At the other extreme it encourages systematic dehumanisation of other nationalities by institutionalising a second class resident category.
The continued evidence in the form of letters to the newspapers on"how to treat your maid" reek of at best paternalism and at worst exploitation. It begs the question of how construction and plantation workers are treated.

Thoughts welcome

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From Today's Star

Sunday December 19, 2010
Most Malaysians couldn’t care less for domestic help
By ISABELLE LAI
isabellelai@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: A large number of Malaysians view their domestic help as servants or maids rather than workers.

A recent survey found that a majority of them disagreed with giving workers a day off each week or pay allowances if they were to work more than 14 hours a day.

These findings were among the results revealed in a research report launched by non-governmental organisations Coordination of Action Research on AIDS and Mobility Asia (CARAM-Asia) and Tenaganita.

The Merdeka Centre carried out the survey on their behalf through phone interviews with 283 randomly selected employers in the country.

It discovered that only 6% were adequately informed about their foreign domestic workers’ legal rights under the Employment Act.

CARAM-Asia regional coordinator Mohammad Harun Al Rashid said that the survey provided disturbing insights.

“Some disagreed that punitive measures be taken against exploitative employers,” he said at a press conference held in conjunction with International Migrant Day yesterday.

“They appeared ready to condone behaviour that denies the foreign workers their basic rights.”

In contrast, Hong Kong employers’ attitudes toward foreign help was far better. At least 47% showed awareness of the laws.

“Hong Kong employment laws provide a standardised contract that covers the workers’ basic rights,” said Harun, adding that Hong Kong had been chosen for comparison due to its stringent laws on foreign workers.

“Malaysia, on the other hand, has no such contract, and this has led to much abuse of the foreign workers’ rights,” he said.

He added that one should be created under the Employment Act and stipulate the foreigner’s scope of work, place of employment, duration term, rest days, annual leave and others.

“Another step is to change the term ‘servant’ to ‘domestic worker’. This will accord workers the same rights given to all other categories of workers,” he said

Harun also suggested that the Labour Department carry out random checks to ensure employers adhered to regulations.

“Lastly, the Passport Act needs to be strictly enforced,” he said. “It is a crime to hold another person’s passport.”

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I think it's going to take more than semantics such as changing the name from 'servant' to 'domestic worker' to change the deep culture of viewing the ladies as servants in my opinion.   

I'm only new to Malaysia but this is one of the cultural practices I find a little perturbing to be honest with you.  I do see that there are jobs, a home and hopefully decent food and other conditions provided that might be better than what is to be had in their homeland BUT I do find the minimalist wage and the 7 day a week work practice rather appalling.   

I don't honestly feel there is much that can be done to change this practice and bring a bit more equity & fairness into play as change seems to take place very, very slowly from what I have garnered.

The gentlemen who have the brain numbing job of sitting on the gate house and performing 'other' security practices in the condo I live in have had their passsports taken away and are only being paid 50% of what they were promised (they are from Bangladesh) - I know this because we chat often as I help them with their english.   They have begged me not to say anything because they are scared of the repurcussions that might come their way.       

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hi,

14 hour days and 365 working days per year. And no rights. Similar in many things to the system of indentured labour.

It needs maids to be added into the labour laws of Malaysia and screw the employers' squeals. And Malaysia needs a reasonable/decent minimum wage - it's an issue that's been floating around for too long.

If what is to be had in the home country is so bad then employing maids in Malaysia for a few ringgit a month more is simply marginally less bad.

It's slave labour. Basically, it's now December so that's 31 days work at 14 hours per day for about RM450 per month.

And forget the crap about treated like one of the family. I've seen plenty of maids cleaning the master's car at 7am. I've never seen anyone from the family helping out.

Foreign construction and plantation workers faced the same conditions of being underpaid - when any pay is received after taking out "dues and expenses." As from Jan 1st 2011, all foreign workers, except maids, need to have a minimum premium of RM120 per year medical insurance. I wonder where this is coming from - deducted from profits or from wages.

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You can bet the contractors who are hired to bring the maids over are paying a pretty sum to government officials so they are NOT subjected to any annoying rules or labor laws.  It's no secret that paying bribes is the usual way business is done in Malaysia.  The hell with workers' rights.  Unfortunately, this is pretty much ingrained in the psyche of the average Malaysian.  When I once mentioned how poorly the Indonesian maids are treated with no day off, poor pay, and confiscated PPs; a close Malaysian friend got quite annoyed saying they can't be trusted and would just run off with their BFs.  I would hope any Ex-pats here who may be using the services of a foreign maid afford her a decent living wage and working conditions.  It's not rocket Science, folks.  If you want a loyal, hard working employee; treat her fairly and extend some kindness...   

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Ola, Donahue !  C'est Moi.  Still wrestling with this hoary question, I see !   Coming to KL at long last to visit - please pm so you can buy me the pint or three you promised !

From what I know of the issue of Domestic Help - from Cairo Eastwards - the question of Human Rights and Rights of Domestic Help is pretty dire.  However, if one seriously objects - particularly to the question of Human Rights - do not live there.   It is well known who "The Worst" Employers are - whichever country they reside and in which they employ "imported" Domestic Help.

The solution in Domestic Help resides in one's own hands - if you choose to employ them - utill the MY GOvernment stringently applies the Law with on site spot investigations on households who employ Domestic Help.

BTW & FYI :  In this Employment Sector - UK rate is £7.50 to £10 per hour with 20 days paid holiday per annum basic - up to a maximum of 48 hours per week.

Hope you will pm me.

Best wishes