Indonesian maids to get RM900, says report
The Malaysian Insider – 1 hour 57 minutes ago
Employers will now have to pay RM900 in monthly salary for Indonesian maids, The Star reported today.
Indonesia's deputy ambassador to Malaysia Hermono reportedly said that this rate could be increased again to RM1,000, although he did not say when this would happen.
He said, however, that an Indonesian government agency had written to the embassy requesting for the increase.
The agency also requested in their October 15 letter for the embassy not to allow employers to make deductions from the salaries of the maids, where currently employers are allowed to deduct RM1,800 from the wages, which is the sum paid by the employers in advance to cover certain initial costs incurred by their hiring of the maids, the report said.
The report also quoted the Malaysian National Association of Employment Agencies as saying that its 270 members were in a bind given Indonesia's unilateral decision to set the minimum salary.
“Our members are having a headache trying to figure out what to do, because if we don’t adhere to Indonesia’s decision, we will not be able to bring in any maids.
“We hope the government can decide on the matter as soon as possible,” said association president Datuk Raja Zulkepley Dahalan, according to the report.
He also raised concerns that the cost to hire an Indonesian maid would rise if employers were not allowed to recover from the maid's salary, the RM1,800 they paid in advance, the report said.
The report also quoted Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot as saying that senior officials from both countries had not made a decision on the minimum salary at a Joint Working Group meeting in Jakarta on October 15.
He reportedly said that the matter would be discussed at the next working group meeting to be held in Putrajaya soon.
Last week however, Riot reportedly said that Malaysia and Indonesia had agreed to a slight increase in monthly wages for Indonesian maids from the current RM800, but declined to reveal the exact quantum.
He was reported to have said that the increase did not meet what Indonesia wanted for its maids.
"I won’t disclose the figure, ada naik sikit (there is a slight increase) but not to the amount which Indonesia had asked for," Riot reportedly said.
Reports in the past have said that 72% of maids in Malaysia are from Indonesia. – October 31, 2015.
