Indonesia seeks better terms for its maids

Sunday August 3, 2008
By PAUL GABRIEL

KUALA LUMPUR: Indonesia will propose amended terms for the recruitment of its domestic helpers, who form the largest number of foreign maids in the country.

Topping the list will be higher wages and time off for them. A proper mechanism will also be sought to resolve disputes between the helpers and their employers.

The amendments to a labour memorandum of understanding signed between both countries in 2006 involving domestic helpers will be presented at a coming consultation between both sides that Malaysia will host.

The Indonesians wanted to set a minimum wage of RM500 for their domestic helpers then, but agreed to back down after this condition was rejected by Malaysia.

Indonesian domestic helpers, who number about 300,000 here, are mostly being paid between RM400 and RM500 monthly.

An Indonesian embassy official said the latest wage increase being sought would likely be between RM50 and RM100.

Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia Da’i Bachtiar, who confirmed the amendments, said the rising cost of living had also affected Indonesians working in Malaysia.

“If costs are rising here due to higher fuel prices and food prices are going up, then our workers too should be entitled to what is deemed fit by the Malaysian Government,” he told The Star in an interview.

Bachtiar, the republic's former national police chief who was posted here in May, said time off was also being sought.

“We also want a system in place whereby if an employer accuses workers of any wrongdoing the issue will be handled with fairness,” he added.

On the high fees being paid to agents by employers seeking Indonesian domestic helpers, despite Malaysia capping recruiting and processing fees for such workers at RM2, 415 in 2006, Bachtiar said he agreed that Indonesian agents were “asking too much.”

He said many Indonesian agents also did not train domestic helpers for the chores they were expected to do here.

“What I am going to do to such agents is to get Jakarta to blacklist them. We will ask Malaysian agents for feedback as to who the errant agents on our side are. We will pass this information to the authorities in Jakarta,” he added.