Maid agencies clean up amid shortage of help<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): With household help and babysitters home for the
\nIdul Fitri holiday, several maid placement agencies are enjoying
\na windfall as they place temporary workers for higher fees.<\/p>\n
Since most housemaids take their annual leave during the post-
\nfasting month holiday, which sometimes lasts up to two weeks,
\nmany families in Jakarta usually have no other choice but to hire
\noutside help.<\/p>\n
The alternative would be for families to mop the floor, do the
\ndishes, wash clothes, cook, take care of their children, bake
\nIdul Fitri cakes and serve guests during the holidays.<\/p>\n
Domestic workers and babysitters usually leave Jakarta one
\nweek before Idul Fitri and return a week after it ends. Some even
\nleave the city earlier.<\/p>\n
Due to high demand, agents set prices on a daily basis of
\nbetween Rp 20,000 and Rp 30,000 for a domestic servant and
\nbetween Rp 30,000 and Rp 40,000 for a babysitter. Those who hire
\nthrough the service also have to pay an administration fee of
\nbetween Rp 75,000 and Rp 200,000 per worker.<\/p>\n
In comparison, the average monthly salary of domestic servants
\nin the city is between Rp 100,000 and Rp 150,000 each.<\/p>\n
As a result, some housemaids tell employers they are heading
\nhome for Idul Fitri, but stay in Jakarta and join friends to work
\nas temporary servants.<\/p>\n
Several agents contacted by The Jakarta Post on Wednesday
\nacknowledged that the business was promising. The fees, they
\nsaid, did not matter to consumers, who were in desperate need of
\ntemporary domestic help during the busy holiday.<\/p>\n
Tonang, an owner of an agency in Cempaka Putih, Central
\nJakarta, said all 20 temporary servants and babysitters were
\nhired out, mostly since the end of December.<\/p>\n
"Most customers hire them up to next week when their permanent
\nservants are expected to return from holidays," he said.<\/p>\n
Families who hire help from Tonang's staff pay a Rp 200,000
\nadministration fee plus a daily salary of Rp 20,000 for a servant
\nand about Rp 40,000 for a babysitter.<\/p>\n
Tonang acknowledged that all the women were employed
\nhousemaids from other homes in Jakarta, but they decided to spend
\nIdul Fitri working temporarily.<\/p>\n
"They (the maids and babysitters) get the daily wage, while we
\nonly take the administration fee," he said, adding that he
\nstarted the business about five years ago.<\/p>\n
A similar agent based in Depok offered a lower fee to its
\ncustomers. Udin, a staff member, said the agent sets its
\nadministration fee at Rp 75,000 with a daily wage of Rp 20,000
\nfor servants and Rp 30,000 for babysitters.<\/p>\n
And as Tonang, the agent had hired out its entire staff of 30
\ntemporary servants and 10 babysitters.<\/p>\n
"Customers are continuously asking to hire domestic help," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Another agent in Radio Dalam, South Jakarta offers customers a
\ndifferent scheme, which is on a one-month basis.<\/p>\n
The owner, Mrs. Gito, said customers are required to pay Rp
\n100,000 for the administration fee plus a monthly salary of Rp
\n300,000 for a domestic servant and Rp 400,000 for a babysitter.<\/p>\n
All of the salary is given directly to the workers, she said.<\/p>\n
"The domestic servants, for example, usually receive only Rp
\n150,000 per month," she said.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Gito also acknowledged that some of her hired help was
\ndomestic servants and babysitters who did not go home for the
\nholiday. But some were provided by agents from several areas,
\nsuch as Lampung in Sumatra, Garut in West Java and other areas in
\nCentral Java.<\/p>\n
One customer complained that a babysitter she had temporarily
\nhired turned out to be a poor choice.<\/p>\n
"We spent a lot of money only to get garbage," the working
\nwoman, who refused to be named, said.<\/p>\n
She said she had spent more than Rp 1 million for an unskilled
\nbabysitter.<\/p>\n
"I had to pay Rp 300,000 for the administration fee and Rp
\n45,000 a day for the babysitter who couldn't even bathe my 17-
\nmonth-old baby," said the woman, adding that she hired her on
\nDec. 23.<\/p>\n
But she acknowledged that she had no choice.<\/p>\n
"I will fire her shortly after I get the new one, who is
\nexpected to start working here on Monday."<\/p>\n
She reported that several of her friends also had similar
\nexperiences. (ind)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/maid-agencies-clean-up-amid-shortage-of-help-1447893297",
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