Article 3: Domestic workers getting underpaid?

Hot News // Monday, May 14, 2007

Indonesia wants maids to be paid 25% more

Joseph Yadao
joseph.yadao@mediacorp.com.sg

COME July 1, it may get more expensive to hire an Indonesian domestic worker.

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Under plans to raise the minimum wage for its overseas workers, the Indonesian government said it will increase this figure to $350 — or 1.9 million rupiah — a month for those working in Singapore.

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This is 25 per cent higher than the current wage of $280 — a figure that has not changed for more than 10 years.

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"We won't send workers if the provisions are not followed," said Mr Jumhur Hidayat, the head of the National Agency for Indonesian Overseas Workers Placement and Protection, according to the Tempo newspaper on Friday.

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The wages, he said, was set following discussions between the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore, the TKI service company and maid agents in Singapore.

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However, enforcing this minimum wage policy may be easier said than done, said agents here.

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"It will be hard to enforce it legally, unless the Ministry of Manpower introduces a minimum wage system for maid agencies to follow," Mr Desmond Ding, owner of maid agency SG Manpower Employment Services, told Today.

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A ministry spokesman said there is no minimum wage set for foreign domestic workers here. The market forces determine the wages, and the terms and conditions of each contract are up to the employer and maid, she said.

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A similar move by the Philippines government to raise the minimum wages of Filipino maids to US$400 ($608) from March 1 — up from $300 to $350 — didn't have much impact, said agents.

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Said one agency owner: "I don't know of any Filipino maid being paid the minimum of US$400."

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If anything, the new rules will affect new domestic workers from Indonesia — Singapore's largest source of maids — rather than those already working here.

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As the employers' consent must be given to transfer a maid, the employer has the upper hand when it comes to these contract discussions, said Mr Ding, citing instances where maids have been given an ultimatum to either accept lower wages or be sent back home.

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But several agents hope employers embrace the higher wages.

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"The current salary, $280, is too low. This increase is fair," said Workforce Recruitment Centre owner Wilson Wong.

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Maids here are paid much lower than their counterparts in Hong Kong, who can earn as much as $700 a month.

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My grandparents have employed a domestic worker from Indonesia and she has proven to be a great asset to the family. Other than completing her assigned household chores diligently, she is a great companion to my grandparents. Indeed, I suppose no one can refute the fact that domestic workers deserve credit for helping their employers deal with maintaining their family and homes. Yet, I was shocked when I came across this article and realised that the maids here were paid only a meagre amount of $280!

Before we can conclude how much pay a maid should receive, let us consider the work she does. In Singapore, every working individual spends most of his time at work. After returning home from a hard day's work, why would anyone wish to spend precious time meant for rest on doing housework? These menial chores take up a lot of time. Thankfully for the maids, employers are now able to enjoy a hot bath before retiring to bed, instead of having to worry about such bothersome tasks. While one might argue that such work require little skill and expertise, we have to understand it requires great effort, especially for the landed properties, and that it does their employers a great deal of service.

Now that we have established that their work deserves credit, let us consider if $280 a month is doing them justice. No doubt, back in their homeland, $280 in Singapore currency is a considerable sum of money. As such, many people would agree that it is a fair sum. However, if we were to regard $280 in local context, it is truly a incredibly small amount of wages to be given on a monthly basis. $280 a month does not even work out to $10 per day, which is the amount of pocket money most teenagers receive. I suppose this is a debatable issue. I am but a secondary student and it is hard for me to judge on such affairs with regards to the concept of money and market prices. However, personally, I feel the maids should be given more, especially if their counterparts in other countries are receiving nearly thrice of what they earn. Singapore citizens are certainly capable of giving much more.

As stated in the article, the wages are pretty much determined by the market forces and conditions are set by the employer. If a person is able to afford the employment of a maid in the first place, raising the wages by another $70 should not be a problem. The issue at hand is no longer merely shortchanging them of $70, but rather it would affect our national prestige as a leading power in the world economy.

In conclusion, while I am not able to determine if their pay is just, as I have a weak understanding of the economy, I would say that if the employers are able to, they should pay their maids the just amount designated by the Indonesian government.

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