Hiring rates for RP maids increased

Hiring rates for RP maids increased

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): It will cost five times more to hire Filipina maids in Malaysia following government moves to regulate foreign labor recruitment, news reports said yesterday.

Employers wanting maids from the Philippines would have to pay a security bond of 5,000 ringgit (US$2,000) from Oct. 1 instead of the present 1,000 ringgit, The Star daily quoted a top immigration official as saying.

Under the new regulations, security deposits of employment agencies had also been doubled to 200,000 ringgit.

Immigration director-general Mohamed Zakri Abdul Rashid said the increase was also due to problems faced by employers in sending home maids at the end of their contracts and tighter control by Manila on employers' responsibilities.