RI apartment-training its maids

RI apartment-training its maids

SINGAPORE: Singapore authorities have launched a safety course to teach new maids how to avoid falling from high-rise flats following an alarming rate of helpers plunging to their deaths, a report said on Thursday.

The lessons began last October and from April 1 will be compulsory for new maids seeking to obtain a work permit, the Straits Times reported.

Nearly 100 Indonesian maids have fallen to their death here since 1999, usually while cleaning windows or hanging out the washing, according to Indonesian embassy figures quoted by the paper.

Among the teaching tools created by the National Safety Council is a video opening with a shot of a maid's body lying on the ground after falling from an apartment and the words "Don't let this happen to you."

In a session conducted on Wednesday, 50 Indonesian maids were instructed not to overload bamboo poles when hanging out the wash and to avoid leaning out of the window or balcony when cleaning the glass.

Most Singaporeans live in government-built high-rise apartments and hang their laundry on bamboo poles fitted into slots outside the windows.

The maids, most of whom come from remote villages and have never lived in high-rise buildings, were also taught how to take care of children and the elderly, handle electrical equipment and first aid. -- AFP