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