Indonesian envoy says pact on maids to be signed in April

 

Hermono says there will be a clause limiting households to one maid per six household members.

PETALING JAYA: An agreement on the recruitment of domestic helpers between Malaysia and Indonesia will be signed in April instead of this week, according to Indonesian ambassador Hermono.

He said it was supposed to have been signed in Jakarta on Thursday or Friday this week, witnessed by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and President Jokowi Widodo, but the Malaysian premier was “busy with domestic issues”.

“So we are looking for a new date some time in April as agreed upon by the two leaders. It will be signed in Jakarta,” he told FMT.

Yesterday, human resources minister M Saravanan told the Dewan Rakyat that the memorandum of understanding (MoU) would be signed this week, after being postponed from early February.

Hermono.

Hermono said all outstanding issues had now been resolved, and the embassy would ensure that the hiring of the domestic helpers would proceed smoothly.

He said the MoU contained a clause for “one maid per household with six members” to prevent them from being abused by working for large families or being shuttled to work for relatives and friends.

“Also, if among the six there is an infant or elderly who needs special care, employers must hire an additional domestic helper for this purpose,” he said.

He said the agreement did not provide a specific amount as a minimum wage. “It will be decided by the embassy based on the workload the maids are expected to handle according to the needs of the employers.”

“It could be around RM1,500. But the domestic helpers will be entitled to one day off a week. If the employers want them to work on their days off and the maids agree, they must be compensated,” he said.

Hermono said recruitment would now be done through a one-channel system in which all licensed Indonesian agents will be allowed to bring in maids through one government-linked company or agency at both ends.

He had previously said a controversial visa system would be scrapped. The system would have required domestic workers to enter Malaysia on tourist visas and then apply electronically for work permits. - FMT