Boss fined for not paying RI maid

Boss fined for not paying RI maid

SINGAPORE: An employer who did not pay her Indonesian maid for
almost two years has been fined and ordered to pay the overdue
wages in the first case of its kind in Singapore, news reports
said on Wednesday.

Clerk Enilia Donohue, 29, was told to pay Achdaniah, 19, the
sum of 3,580 Singapore dollars (US$2,118) after the prosecution
successfully appealed against a magistrate's refusal to make the
order.

She was also fined 12,075 Singapore dollars, equivalent to two
years and 11 months' maid levy, for illegal employment and 3,000
Singapore dollars for failing to pay Achdaniah.

It was the first time the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has
prosecuted such a case and obtained a compensation order in
relation to unpaid wages.

Donahue admitted to two charges of employing a foreign worker
without a valid work permit and not paying her wages.

The court order "sends a very strong, good signal so employers
will realize that it's their basic responsibility to pay their
foreign domestic workers their wages," Helen Tan, president of
the Association of Employment Agencies, was quoted as saying. --
DPA