Maid for absconding

Good help is so hard to find these days, judging by the Immigration director-general's report that more than 17,000 foreign maids ran away last year.

If they were abused as Nirmala Bonat was, then they have every reason to bolt from their cruel taskmasters. But the director- general said mistreatment was not the reason. He explained that they did not like doing "household chores" and preferred other jobs. Or perhaps, although there was no physical, psychological, or sexual harassment, the work was harder than they expected. There would certainly be problems with their employers and the work environment.

If you have to work a 16-hour day, seven days a week, taking care of four children, cooking three meals a day, doing the dirty dishes, cleaning the house, washing the clothes and cleaning two cars for about RM300 a month, you would probably clear out, too. But many Malaysian families will tell you that they treat their maids well, regard them as part of the family, give them days off, help with the housework, provide good working conditions, and pay them decent salaries.

Yet their maids disappear unexpectedly, leaving them with the difficult task of getting someone to look after the kids on such notice, a fine to pay and no hope of getting a refund.

Like the maids, employers too have tales to tell -- trust broken, money stolen, valuables pilfered, husbands seduced. Although the stories are not as horrific as those of maids tortured, they do show that both are victims of an unsatisfactory state of affairs.

Live-in maids have become a necessity for many double-income Malaysian families in the absence of affordable alternatives for the childcare and domestic services they require. There is also a large pool of available foreign workers to mind their children and do the housework.

But somehow neither the needs of the employers nor their maids are being met and neither are their rights being respected. Recruiting agencies owe it to their clients and the maids to do a more professional job. Governments, not least those of the labor-exporting countries, owe it to their citizens to create the mechanisms and regulations to ensure a fair deal for both employers and migrant workers. -- New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur