Cambodian maids in babysitting class at orientation in Kuala Lumpur.Submitted by Najiah
The Malay Mail
By Nadia Fernandez
Thursday, February 10th, 2011
PETALING JAYA: While about 35,000 families had reportedly been desperately in need of domestic helpers as of last month, this figure seems to be decreasing since Cambodian maids are becoming popular among Malaysian employers.
A plus-point is that it costs less to employ a Cambodian maid.
Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies president Alwi Bavutty said the number of families on the waiting list for maids had been decreasing as many people had become "tired" of waiting for them to arrive and some had "simply given up".
"They have not been waiting for one or two weeks. They have been waiting for the past two years. One can only be patient for so long."
The supply of maids dried up considerably since Indonesia barred its nationals from coming here to be employed as maids in June 2009. Indonesian maids had made up the bulk of domestic helpers employed by Malaysian families.
Alwi said the arrival of the Cambodian maids had helped to ease the demand. "The demand for Cambodian maids here has been increasing. One reason is they do not have to pay a large sum for fees and monthly wages."
Asked how desperate Malaysians were to hire foreign maids, he said: "Maids from the Philippines are expensive. Since some Malaysians felt they didn't have a choice, they agreed to pay US$400 or RM1,200 every month."
Despite the ban, Indonesian nationals are still being granted temporary work permits to be employed as domestic helpers as long as they turn up at the Immigation offices here with their potential employers, but such numbers are a far cry from those brought in before June 2009 by employment agencies.
Government-to-government discussions have already been conducted with Indonesia but the impasse remains. Among the extra benefits asked for Indonesian nationals were one day off every week and the right to hold their own passports.
While these terms would result in employment contracts for Indonesian maids almost similar to their Filipina counterparts, it is understood many employers are uncomfortable with such terms, fearing they have no recourse if the Indonesian maids end up leaving the employers.
A plus-point is that it costs less to employ a Cambodian maid.
Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies president Alwi Bavutty said the number of families on the waiting list for maids had been decreasing as many people had become "tired" of waiting for them to arrive and some had "simply given up".
"They have not been waiting for one or two weeks. They have been waiting for the past two years. One can only be patient for so long."
The supply of maids dried up considerably since Indonesia barred its nationals from coming here to be employed as maids in June 2009. Indonesian maids had made up the bulk of domestic helpers employed by Malaysian families.
Alwi said the arrival of the Cambodian maids had helped to ease the demand. "The demand for Cambodian maids here has been increasing. One reason is they do not have to pay a large sum for fees and monthly wages."
Asked how desperate Malaysians were to hire foreign maids, he said: "Maids from the Philippines are expensive. Since some Malaysians felt they didn't have a choice, they agreed to pay US$400 or RM1,200 every month."
Despite the ban, Indonesian nationals are still being granted temporary work permits to be employed as domestic helpers as long as they turn up at the Immigation offices here with their potential employers, but such numbers are a far cry from those brought in before June 2009 by employment agencies.
Government-to-government discussions have already been conducted with Indonesia but the impasse remains. Among the extra benefits asked for Indonesian nationals were one day off every week and the right to hold their own passports.
While these terms would result in employment contracts for Indonesian maids almost similar to their Filipina counterparts, it is understood many employers are uncomfortable with such terms, fearing they have no recourse if the Indonesian maids end up leaving the employers.
No comments:
Post a Comment