Employer, Maid Can Still Negotiate Weekly Off Day - Najib

May 20, 2010 14:47 PM
By: Ramjit

KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 (Bernama) -- Malaysian employers and their Indonesian maids can still negotiate the requirement for an off day a week and come up with mutually-agreed arrangement, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said.He said if both sides agreed, the maids need not take an off day and they would be paid salary in lieu of the off day."If we have concerns, we can still negotiate," he told reporters after opening the ground breaking ceremony of Utusan Melayu (M) Berhad's new headquarters at Jalan Chan Sow Lin, here on Thursday.

Najib said this when asked to comment on concerns that the one-day off for maid could give rise to social problem."There should be a compromise or else how are we going to have the supply of maid?" he said.On Tuesday, Malaysia and Indonesia signed a letter of intent, which requires Malaysian employers to give their Indonesian maids a day off a week and that if the maids agreed not to take the off day, they would be paid salaries instead.

Najib said Malaysian families were increasingly in need of maid especially if the husband and wife were working.Asked whether the setting up of more nurseries could help ease the demand for maid among working couples, Najib said it was likely that these couples would still need the service of a maid.-- BERNAMA