RI may compromise on maid pact in Malaysia

RI may compromise on maid pact in Malaysia

Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur

Indonesia is ready to drop its demand for a minimum wage for
Indonesian maids in Malaysia as part of efforts to seal a
bilateral deal on their recruitment, an official said on
Wednesday.

The two countries have been trying since 2002 to sign a
memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Indonesian domestic workers
but several rounds of negotiations have so far failed to yield an
agreement.

The Indonesian embassy's first secretary for information Eka
Suripto said the demand for a minimum monthly wage of 500 ringgit
(US$133) could be dropped in talks next month "if it's one of the
stumbling blocks".

Indonesia recognized that Malaysia did not have a minimum wage
for any domestic workers, he said.

Indonesian domestic workers currently earn between 350 and 400
ringgit per month in Malaysia, far less than their counterparts
from the Philippines.

Suripto said Indonesia is also prepared to drop demands for a
suitability test for employers, but is still pursuing
negotiations on health and insurance coverage, holidays and
overtime payment.

"It depends on what other concessions or benefits we can get
on the MOU," he told AFP.

"Like with overtime, certainly we would like them not to work
more than a certain time. For example, if you let them work from
5 in the morning to 11 at night, certainly some compensation
should be given to them."

The two countries are due to meet next month in Bandung,
Indonesia and Penang, Malaysia over the issue and Suripto said
Indonesia was anxious to see the MOU finally signed.

"It's been hanging on for so long and (the situation) offers
no protection for maids working in households. We want the
negotiations to reach a conclusion," he said.

Both countries have already signed an MOU on Indonesian
workers in construction, industrial, plantation and services
sectors in Malaysia.

There are over 720,000 registered Indonesian workers in
Malaysia, some 200,000 of whom are maids, according to embassy
figures.

Indonesia is the main supplier of foreign labor to Malaysia
but the treatment of workers has often been an irritant to
relations.

Malaysia is one of Asia's largest importers of foreign labor.
Foreign workers, both legal and illegal, number around 2.6
million of its 10.5 million-strong workforce.