Agencies making a killing using illegal temps

[fighterpilot]

Sunday January 16, 2011

Agencies making a killing using illegal temps

KUALA LUMPUR: With legitimate domestic workers getting very scarce, illegal ones are becoming a precious, and costly, alternative.

The going rate for an illegal temporary maid, mainly from Indonesia and the Philippines, is RM1,500, which is their monthly salary.

With as many as 35,000 Malaysian employers desperately seeking domestic workers, unscrupulous agencies are cashing in on the rising demand by moving the illegal maids from one household to another.

The agencies pocket the lion’s share of the RM1,500, with the illegal maids paid only a meagre amount.

While some employers do not mind forking out such large sums to keep their homes in order, others are pleading for help for the maid shortage to be resolved quickly.

 

[fighterpilot]

Sunday January 16, 2011

Desperate employers paying high prices for temporary maids

Stories by MUGUTAN VANAR, P. ARUNA and REENA NATHAN

PETALING JAYA: Maid agencies are cashing in on the shortage of domestic helpers in the country by charging desperate employers up to RM1,500 monthly for temporary maids.

The employers are paying a high price for these “temps,” who are hired for a few months before being “rotated” by the agency to other households.

With people willing to pay up to RM1,500 per month for such a temp, it is estimated that agencies are raking in up to RM18,000 each year for every maid under them.

Under the temp system, which is illegal, the employers will fork out the payment to the agencies, who would then pay the maids low wages and pocket the rest.

To fulfil the supply of maids as temps and due to the continued freeze by the Indonesian government, it is believed that the agencies are “recycling” those who have run away from their employers.

The growing practice was exposed by employers, who confessed to having paid large sums of money for these temps.

An employer from Kuala Lumpur, who declined to be named, said he was paying a registered agency RM1,500 per month for a temporary Cambodian maid.

“The agency told us she was a ‘rejected’ maid and we agreed to take her on because we were desperate for help and she was available immediately,” he said.

He said when the agency first informed them of the availability of a temp, his wife went to pick her up only to be told that she had already been hired to another household.

“We were told to come back after two days as these temps were in high demand,” he said.

Association of Foreign Maid Agencies (Papa) president Alwi Bavutty said it had received several reports of agencies supplying such temps and had sent letters demanding for an explanation.

“It is illegal and we will take action against any agency providing such services,” he said.

Alwi said maids were brought into the country only to work for specific employers and that the transfer of a maid to another employer could only be carried out once with approval from the Immigration Department and the first employer.

“If the second employer returns the maid to the agency, she has to be sent back to her country immediately,” he said, adding that there were many unregistered agencies getting maids through illegal means and offering them as temps.

Employers are also caught in the dilemma because the illegality of the temp system and the lack of documentation from the agencies mean that they cannot even file an official complaint if they are dissatisfied with the work.

 

[fighterpilot]

Sunday January 16, 2011

Don’t count on supply of maids from Cambodia, says envoy

By PAUL GABRIEL
[email protected]

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians looking towards Cambodia to resolve their domestic worker problems have to turn elsewhere.

This is because many Cambodian maids prefer to leave at the end of their contracts here for a variety of reasons, which include abuse by employers and inability to settle down.

Cambodian Ambassador to Malaysia Princess Norodom Arunrasmy said it was also “too much” to expect her nationals to fill the vacuum caused by Indonesia’s freeze on sending domestic workers here.

Special fare: Princess Arunrasmy hosting a luncheon for some of the abused Cambodian maids at her embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

“I often speak to Cambodian maids on my flights back to Phnom Penh and am told they are not renewing their contracts due to various reasons. Some are even sent home by their employers,’’ she said in an interview.

There are an estimated 20,000 Cambodians working as domestic workers here, the bulk of them recruited following a dispute with Indonesia which froze recruitment of its domestic workers after several high-profile abuse scandals.

The Star reported earlier this week that about 35,000 families were in desperate need of maids with the average waiting time now stretching to over seven months.

The Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies (Papa) stated that on the average, 7,000 maids were needed per month to replace those who went home after their contracts expired.

Princess Arunrasmy said the embassy was also tightening protection mechanisms for its domestic workers here by requiring employers to bring the maids along when renewing their passports.

“Before, the maids didnt have to tag along but now we want to see them to make sure all is well. I also personally sign all the necessary documents to keep on top of things,’’ she said.

In cases of alleged abuse and other disputes, the envoy said the maid, employer and agent involved were called in for consultation.

Princess Arunrasmy said she would meet a Cambodian delegation comprising Labour Ministry and agency officials who were due here on a fact-finding mission.