|
MALAYSIA's government is considering a law that would require employers to deposit their maids' salaries into bank accounts following complaints from maids that they are not paid on time, a report said recently.
The legislation would protect some 300,000 maids, mostly foreigners, and require them to set up personal bank accounts, The Star newspaper quoted Human Resources Minister Fong Chan Onn as saying.
The bill also would make it illegal for employers to hold back any of the wages of their maids, he was quoted as saying.
Many employers presently give their live-in maids only a small part of their monthly salary, giving the remainder as a lump-sum before the maids' annual leave. Employers say they do this to deter maids from running away mid-way through a contract, and as insurance against theft by the women, a frequent complaint of many employers.
"By making a clear-cut policy on this, domestic maids will be protected and they cannot claim their wages were not paid," Fong was quoted as saying.
The amendment will be debated in Parliament next month and is likely to be passed, the report said.
Fong or his aides were not immediately available for comment Wednesday.
Human rights groups have urged Malaysia to protect the rights of migrant workers, especially Indonesian maids - who make up a large majority of the domestic work force - saying they regularly fall prey to abusive employers and labor agents because of inadequate labour laws.
Foreign domestic workers typically work 16 to 18 hour days, seven days a week, while earning less than US$150 (euro125) a day.
Other than Indonesians, Malaysians also hire Filipino, Cambodian, Thai and Sri Lankan and local maids.
Many domestic workers are forbidden to leave their workplace and many suffer psychological, physical, and sexual assault by labor agents and employers, the international Human Rights Watch has previously said.
About 20 percent of the local work force is comprised of migrants mainly from neighboring Southeast Asian countries, primarily employed in construction, palm oil plantations and domestic service.
|