'Don't blame us for high cost of hiring foreign domestic labour'

The National Association of Human Resources (Pusma) today said the current high cost of employing foreign domestic labour was due to charges set by agencies from source countries.

"The high cost is not from us... it's from (agencies on) the other side, and it depends on what they charge," said Siti Zarina Ismail, the president of the association which comprises over 100 domestic worker agencies nationwide, at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.

The press conference comes in light of the government's announcement in Budget 2018, that from Jan 1 next year, employers will be allowed to directly hire domestic workers without the use of agents. 

According to Siti Zarina, the current cost of employing a domestic worker ranges from RM13,000 to RM18,000 - almost RM11,000 of which is paid to foreign agencies. Whatever is left after paying the fee will be spent to acquire documentation, training and welfare of the foreign workers, leaving local agencies an average profit of less than RM3,000, she said.

Siti Zarina said Pusma was ready to mitigate the high costs of hiring foreign domestic help by discussing with agencies in source countries, such as the Philippines, Indonesia and Cambodia.

"Pusma offers itself to head a task force representing all licensed agencies in Malaysia to collect input from the Immigration Department, Labour Department, as well as other relevant government departments and NGOs, to present a working paper to Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister (Ahmad Zahid Hamidi) on the best ways to ensure costs are lowered before January next year (when the direct hiring starts).

"Our first thought is that we can reduce costs by 20 percent, but we need a dialogue with source countries,” she said, adding that a letter would be sent to the Immigration Department next week.

Zahid has previously lamented the high costs charged by agents and predicted that the direct hiring option would help reduce costs by 50 percent.

‘We can guide employers on direct hiring’

Meanwhile, Siti Zarina said the association had been “caught off-guard” by the prime minister’s announcement on direct hiring and warned of potential risks, including employers being cheated by unlicensed agents, or even accused of human trafficking.

Nevertheless, she said Pusma was ready to assist employers when directly hiring domestic labour.

“Pusma members offer their commitment to guide and act as consultants for employers to ensure they are not cheated during the direct hiring process.

“If you don't use us (agencies), nevermind. Employers have a choice.

“We have been in the industry for 20-30 years... we want to offer our expertise, we want to protect employers,” added Siti Zarina.- Mkini