RI Embassy initiates maid protection

RI Embassy initiates maid protection

SINGAPORE: The Indonesian Embassy has drawn up rules for employers and domestic service agencies in Singapore to curb the high number of deaths and abuse, it said on Wednesday.

So far, 186 agencies have been given approval under the new accreditation system.

Terms listed under the employment agreement published in The Straits Times include a rest day on Sunday, prohibiting the cleaning of window exteriors, hanging of clothing from high-rise homes and shielding maids from violence.

The agreement does not include penalties for failing to comply. Agencies said it would be hard to enforce.

Ninety Indonesian maids have died here since 1999, 52 in accidents and 25 from suicide. The latest victim fell to her death on Sunday, only two days after arriving in Singapore. -- DPA