Over the last three years, an average of 55 foreign domestic workers (FDWs)a year required inpatient or day surgery treatment that cost more than $15,000, Minister of State for Manpower Sam Tan said in Parliament yesterday. These cases make up around 3 per cent of the 1,900 cases of maids who sought treatment at public hospitals here in the same time period, added Mr Tan, who revealed the numbers in a reply to questions from Mr Patrick Tay (West Coast GRC) and Dr Tan Wu Meng (Jurong GRC) over help available for employers to foot these "unexpected and huge medical bills". Within the same time frame, he said there were three to four cases a year of employers who have had to pay medical bills above $50,000 at public hospitals for their domestic workers. Employers are required by law to purchase insurance plans for their FDWs. Most basic plans offered by insurance companies cost less than $250 for 26 months of coverage. On average, such a plan will cost about $100 more if the … [Read more...] about 55 maids a year require medical treatment costing more than $15,000
Maid
Indonesian maid’s death highlights failures
KUALA LUMPUR: Trafficked to Malaysia, forced to sleep outside with a dog before dying from serious injuries – the latest abuse case involving an Indonesian maid highlights a failure to protect domestic helpers despite repeated government pledges, critics say. Adelina Sau died earlier this month in hospital a day after being rescued from her employer’s house in Malaysia’s Penang state, with wounds covering her body. Her 60-year-old employer was charged with her murder this week, and in Indonesia, two people have been arrested on human-trafficking charges for allegedly using fake documents to send her abroad. About 2.5 million Indonesians work in more affluent Malaysia – many illegally – in sectors ranging from agriculture to construction, including an estimated 400,000 female domestic helpers. Allegations of abuse are common. These range from overwork, to beatings and sexual abuse, and the issue is a regular diplomatic flashpoint between the Southeast … [Read more...] about Indonesian maid’s death highlights failures
Singapore Budget 2018: Few maid employers to face higher monthly levy from April 2019
During the Budget speech on Monday, Singapore Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat announced that maid employers who do not qualify for levy concessions will have to pay a S$300 monthly foreign domestic worker levy from April 2019. However, employers who are currently paying a S$60 concessionary rate will continue to pay the same amount. The levy has increased 13 percent from the current monthly pay of S$265. The monthly levy for a second maid will also have an increase of 70 percent making the total levy S$450 from the current S$265. Heng said that the families that need help caring for young children under the age of 16, the elderly, or relatives with disabilities, will qualify for this concessionary rate. According to him, about 80 percent of Singaporean maid employers benefit from this concession. Channel NewsAsia reported that the qualifying age for levy concession under the aged person scheme will rise from 65 to 67. This move is aimed at "improving life expectancy and health of … [Read more...] about Singapore Budget 2018: Few maid employers to face higher monthly levy from April 2019
Singapore Budget 2018: You may have to pay a higher levy for your maid from April 2019
Maid employers who are not eligible for foreign domestic worker levy concessions will have to pay a monthly levy of S$300 ($228), up from the current S$265, for their first maid employed from April next year.Such employers who choose to employ a second maid without a levy concession will have to pay more too. The monthly levy will increase from S$265 to S$450 – or S$185 more.In his Budget speech on Monday (Feb 19), Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat said that maid employers who are currently paying a S$60 concessionary levy will continue to pay the same amount.Families who need care for elderly, children under the age of 16 or relatives with disabilities will qualify for the concessionary rate.The criteria allows for roughly 80% of maid employers to take advantage of the concession.The qualifying age for levy concessions under the aged person scheme will also be raised from 65 to 67, due to improving life expectancy and health of Singaporeans, Mr Heng added.Households which … [Read more...] about Singapore Budget 2018: You may have to pay a higher levy for your maid from April 2019
Death of maid treated ‘like a dog’ casts spotlight on migrant abuse in Malaysia
An Indonesian maid forced to sleep outside next to a dog has died after suspected abuse by her employer in Malaysia, sparking calls from activists to end poor treatment of migrant workers.The 21-year-old woman died in a hospital on Sunday, a day after she was rescued from her employer’s home in the northern state of Penang, according to state media.A 36-year-old woman and her brother are under investigation for suspected murder, police told the state news agency Bernama. The couple were not named as no charges have been filed.Campaigners said the death of the maid, who had worked in Malaysia for two years, highlighted a lack of protection for migrant workers in the country amid reports of widespread abuse.Hundreds of thousands of women – mainly from Indonesia, the Philippines and Myanmar – work in homes throughout Malaysia.Kuala Lumpur-based rights group Tenaganita said the case is “symptomatic of a widespread and deep-seated malaise”.“These cases … [Read more...] about Death of maid treated ‘like a dog’ casts spotlight on migrant abuse in Malaysia