KUALA LUMPUR: The government has been urged to reconsider its proposal to enforce a local-only ruling for cooks at restaurants. Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners Association (Primas) president Muthusamy Thirument said the move should be done in stages, given the cost and time to train locals to maintain the same cooking standards for their customers. He noted that Human Resource Minister M. Kulasegaran had agreed to discuss the matter further with the ministry's policy division officers after a meeting with nine other business operators on Thursday. "This shows that he is willing to hear us. We are only interested in finding a solution," he said in a news conference held at Primas' headquarters, here today. He said the meeting held recently was to submit a memorandum and discuss the shortage of workers in the restaurant sector, together with other stakeholders as well. "He had agreed to have a roundtable discussion at the ministry with the relevant officers and those from the industry … [Read more...] about Reconsider locals-only ruling on cooks, say restaurateurs
Cook salary per month
Raising 7 children on under S$3,000 a month in Singapore
SINGAPORE: Eight-year-old Raphael Heng found himself asking all his classmates: How many siblings did they have? That's how he figured out how unusual his family was - in the entire class, his was the biggest by far.The middle child of seven children, and the only boy, he said: “I have more sisters than friends. (My classmates) say it’s very unfair because I have more siblings than them.”Certainly, there's never a dull moment in the Heng household, where simply keeping track of everyone is a miniature feat. To the extent that the family almost left home once without Raphael, when they were setting off for an outing to the swimming pool.Harder to manage than the logistics of going out, however, are the family’s expenses. So when Raphael wants his favourite snack at the supermarket, mum Esther Heng, 40, often has to tell him to wait until another time.“Which one is more worth it?” she asked him, pointing to his snack and a loaf … [Read more...] about Raising 7 children on under S$3,000 a month in Singapore
Less is more for Koreans renting lifestyle products
One of 33-year-old newlywed Nam Ji-hyun's newfound hobbies of late is to cook roasted meals for herself and her husband after work, using her rented oven. Nam, who lives in a two-bedroom apartment with her husband of one year, rented the Balmuda Toaster oven for one month at 21,900 won (S$27). The oven retails for over 300,000 won (S$370). Not an everyday home cook, she found it wasteful to splurge on a full oven, but wanted to try a few simple recipes for two. Renting seemed like the best-suited option for her temporary needs. "I've tried all the recipes I wanted to try, like small pizzas and roasted meat. It was fun, but I found myself using the oven less often as time went by. So I returned it," said Nam. Others like Nam say rental services are adding a new spice to their quality of life, allowing them to enjoy comforts that lie a little outside of their income range. More and more rental services have popped up in Korea recently, offering temporary use of luxury items at affordable … [Read more...] about Less is more for Koreans renting lifestyle products
Filipina domestic worker wins $1 million in back wages from employers
LOS ANGELES - A live-in Filipina domestic employee has won a wage claim of US$827,506 (S$1.08 million) against her former employers who had her care for two of their disabled children in addition to doing housework, errands, and cooking, for what amounted to much less than minimum wage. The judgment announced last February appears to be among the highest verdicts for a domestic worker on a pure wage claim. "The court's judgement is a victory for Ms. Alzate, especially in the face of a vigorous opposition that did not concede any dime of wages that was owed to her," said a press release from the law firm that represented the Filipina. "It was a testament to the courage of this Filipina to have pursued her claims all the way up to trial." Fil-Am employment lawyer Attorney Joe Sayas [Disclosure: Sayas is a columnist for Inquirer.net USA], represented Linda Alzate (not her real name) and argued that she should be paid for the entire time she was on-call to care for … [Read more...] about Filipina domestic worker wins $1 million in back wages from employers
15 ways to get paid to travel the world
Many people dream of traveling the world full-time, but it can seem expensive and out of reach. Luckily, there are ways to make travel cheaper and even profitable if you are willing to think outside of the box and work hard. Some options include teaching English, WWOOFing, travel-blogging, and working on a cruise ship. Traveling the world is a dream for many people. While there are ways to do it cheaper and safer than ever with sharing platforms like Airbnb and Couchsurfing, and more information on budget backpacker travel than could fit an encyclopedia, the cost is still out of reach for most. But what if you could travel and not spend a dime? What if you could even get paid? Many would jump at the opportunity to experience new cultures, traverse through beautiful landscapes, and satisfy their insatiable wanderlust. Luckily there are more ways than ever to travel and get paid. They aren’t easy, most are a lot of … [Read more...] about 15 ways to get paid to travel the world