A STANDARDISED contract that was to have spelt out minimum working and living conditions for maids here is going to be late by up to six months.
This is because the Association of Employment Agencies Singapore and the consumer watchdog Case – the two agencies charged with accrediting maid agencies – have not been able to agree on minimum standards of accommodation, food, lodging and payment.
The contract, which was to have been ready by January, is now expected to be finalised by the end of this month and implemented by June at the latest.
As to what exactly the contract will spell out, Case executive director Seah Seng Choon said on Thursday that the details still had to be ironed out.
All that is firm for now: Maids have to be given at least one day off a month, leaving the upper limit to be decided between maids and employers. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
12 Mar 2006
Standardised maid contract delayed
From The Star online.
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3 comments:
It saddens me that the government isn't stepping up and insisting that maids get at least a day off each month, frankly I think they deserve a day off every week. Leaving it up to the maid agencies/employers/maids means that the maids will get the short end of the stick, they are just trying to earn a living. When neighbors commented on "all the time" I gave our maid off, my remark was, everyone deserves a day off a week, and keeping my maid happy and healthy means my children will benefit as well. It doesn't take brain surgery to figure that out.
I'm glad that they are attempting to self-regulate.
I'm glad the govt isn't stepping in to regulate this issue, Singapore needs [i]LESS[/i] govt intervention/regulation, not more. I'd like to see the meddlin' S'pore govt get out of the maid-game altogether. The tax (Maid Levy) could be going into the maids' pockets instead of the govt.
Although I agree that the tax levy should be going into the maids' pockets, it's very naive to think in Singapore's very class conscious soceity that leaving the decision up to the employers will do any good at all, these people are part of the problem. Self-regulation statistically doesn't help the people who need the most help. The govt. is well aware that many Singaporeans already take advantage of their maids, and that the maids have little to/no rights. If the govt. allows you a day off a week, why shouldn't they allow maids a day off a week? And WHY do you think the maids deserve less?
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