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Malaysia says Indonesia maid deal delayed, will look elsewhere for hired help
Jakarta Globe - July 13, 2010
Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia said on Tuesday that a deal with Indonesia on working conditions for Indonesian maids, prompted by a series of shocking abuse cases, has been delayed.
The agreement had been expected to be signed this month, but the countries have yet to agree terms, Human Resources Minister S. Subramaniam told AFP.
A flood of complaints of mistreatment of domestic workers in Malaysia strained relations and in June last year prompted Jakarta to temporarily ban maids from taking up jobs there, pending the new agreement.
"It will not be signed this month as expected because both sides have outstanding issues on the terms that have yet to be resolved," the minister said.
"The issues revolve around agreeing to the cost structure of bringing in new maids and the fees to be paid to Indonesian agents in bringing in the maids," he added.
"We are hoping to come up with the agreement in the shortest time possible but at this point, we are not sure when this will be."
In May, Prime Minister Najib Razak said both sides still had to agree on a minimum wage after he held talks with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The two countries have previously inked an agreement that would give maids one day off a week and ensure they can keep their passports while in service.
Subramaniam said the government would also be looking to recruit more maids from southern Thailand and the Philippines, as both countries have sizeable numbers of Muslim domestic workers.
"Those countries have always been a source of maids for us but now we will intensify efforts to recruit more to meet any shortage," he said.
Malaysia is one of Asia's largest importers of labour and depends heavily on domestic workers, who come mainly from Indonesia, but it has no laws governing their working conditions.
An average of 50 maid abuse cases are reported annually out of the 300,000 Indonesian maids working in the country, according to Malaysian officials. But Indonesia says 1,000 maids face violence and mistreatment every year.
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