Sunday February 7, 2010
KUALA LUMPUR: More Filipino maids will be available from the end of next month if negotiations between authorities in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and recruitment agencies are successful.
It may also be more affordable to hire maids from the region, as its Department of Labour and Employment will seek a “workable salary” that would be a win-win solution for both maid and employer, said ARMM state labour secretary Myra Mang-kabung-Alih.
“Such an agreement will create employment opportunities in the region.
“We may be able to work out a lower rate due to the economic recession,” she said, adding that the region was one of the poorest in the country.
On Wednesday, a group of 20 Malaysian maid agencies signed a memorandum of understanding with the department for it to negotiate with recruitment agencies in ARMM to send a targeted 500 maids here monthly.
The initiative will bring the take-up rate of Filipino maids from around 200 a month currently to 700.
“We are doing our best to cater for the shortage of supply of maids due to the current situation in the industry,” said Datuk Raja Zulkepley Dahalan, the former Association of Foreign Maid Agencies chairman who led the group, called G20.
Last June, the Indonesian Govern-ment froze the supply of maids to Malaysia after numerous complaints of maid abuse.
Filipino maids are now paid US$400 (RM1,372) monthly, following the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration’s decision in October 2006 to standardise the minimum salary of Filipino household workers deployed overseas.
Currently, there are 10,000 registered Filipino maids in Malaysia.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/2/7/nation/5631960&sec=nation
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