RI maids work in S'pore for a dollar a month<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (AP): To escape poverty at home, hundreds of
\nIndonesian women are working for just one Singapore dollar
\n(US$0.60) a month as domestic servants in Singapore.<\/p>\n
The regional economic crisis has increased the supply of
\nimported maids in this rich island state, prompting local maid
\nagencies to cut already low rates to a symbolic fee.<\/p>\n
About 100,000 house maids work up to 90 hours a week in often
\ngrueling conditions, and earn an average of S$250 (US$150) a
\nmonth. Most of the maids are from the Philippines, whose
\ngovernment recently declared it will not let them travel to work
\nin Singapore for anything less than S$350 (US$ 212) a month.<\/p>\n
But Singapore's Delijoy Employment Agency in April began
\noffering Indonesian maids at a dollar a month for the first five
\nmonths, after which their salary should increase to S$230
\n(US$140) a month. The agency receives a finder's fee from the
\nemployers.<\/p>\n
Protesting the token fee, the Indonesian government last week
\nsuspended all maid exports to Singapore for the next three
\nmonths. So far about 1,000 Indonesian women have agreed to work
\nunder the new scheme, Delijoy said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\"I don't mind,\" Yuyun Juju, 28, told The Straits Times
\nnewspaper. \"Life is difficult in the kampong. That is why I need
\nthis job.\"<\/p>\n
Singaporeans, who rely on maids for their typical dual career
\nlifestyle, seem divided on the issue of cheap maids.<\/p>\n
\"For us employers, we have nothing much to lose if we send the
\nmaid back or when she runs away,\" said Leong Yoke Yeng, a
\n40-year-old businesswoman who just hired an Indonesian maid from
\nDelijoy.<\/p>\n
\"My experience with maids is that for the first few months
\nwhen they go without pay, they tend to be more hardworking,\" she
\nsaid. \"Anyway, she doesn't really need money. Everything she
\nneeds she can get at home, or I will pay.\"<\/p>\n
However, teacher Lim Su Mei, 29, disagreed with the cheap
\nmaids. \"I think it's disgusting. We're hiring a maid, not buying
\na slave.\"<\/p>\n
Because most Filipinos speak English, they remain the most
\nsought-after maids in Singapore despite their relatively high
\nsalaries. Indonesian maids mostly communicate in Indonesian.<\/p>",
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