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2009/07/07 Joint panel on maids' employment http://www.nst. com.my/Current_ News/NST/ Tuesday/National /2601527/ Article/index_ html PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia and Indonesia have agreed to set up a coordinating body to handle administrative issues regarding the employment of Indonesian workers. Registered employment agencies will in future have to go through this committee. They will have to satisfy the committee that the worker was being matched with the right employer before being allowed to recruit them.
This, Indonesian Manpower and Transmigration Minister Dr Erman Suparno said, would not only ensure that the Indonesian workforce was protected but it would also allow the authorities to monitor their welfare.
"This committee will comprise not only officials from both labour ministries but also the Malaysian and Indonesian police," he said. Met after a meeting with Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramanian, Erman said he had outlined concerns that would be further discussed before both countries signed a memorandum of understanding on July 15 in Bali.
The concerns and requests include allowing Indonesian workers to:
- be given a weekly day off,
- be paid wages promptly,
- be given the right to vote in Indonesia's elections,
- be allowed to hold on to their passports, and
- be assured of health and security protection.
Erman said Indonesia also wanted Malaysia to mete out severe punishment on employers who employed illegal Indonesians. More on http://www.nst. com.my/Current_ News/NST/ Tuesday/National /2601527/ Article/index_ html Indonesia May Resume Sending Maids To Malaysia In August http://www.bernama. com/bernama/ v5/newsgeneral. php?id=423395 KUALA LUMPUR, July 6 (Bernama) -- Indonesia will probably retract the decision to stop sending its citizens to work as maids in Malaysia in August if discussions on the matter between the two countries came out positive, Indonesia's Minister for Labour and Transmigration, Erman Suparno, said Monday.
He said the meeting scheduled for middle of this month here, was aimed at reviewing the memorandum of understanding on maids inked between the two countries in May 2006.
"We are optimistic but it all depends on the outcome of the meeting.
"If everything turns out okay, the situation will be back to normal by August and everybody will be happy," he told reporters at the Indonesian Embassy here.
Earlier, the Indonesian minister attended a meeting with Human Resources Minister, Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan in Putrajaya.
Erman said during the one-hour meeting, they had discussed various ways and means to improve protection of the maids to prevent them from being abused by employers.
He said in order to improve the protection, maid recruitment must be done through legal maid agencies with a clear and transparent working contracts.
He also reiterated that Indonesia would try to tighten the departure process of maids to prevent illegal entry into Malaysia.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Bernama's Radio 24 today, Erman also called on the Malaysian government to take stern action against employers who abused their maids.
"If the maid has done something wrong, prove it according to legal procedures," he added.
-- BERNAMA |
