No job description, no salary, performance review - issues plaguing maids in M'sia

SHAH ALAM - Poor job description, no proper salary scale, no performance review and high agency fees, are just some of the problems plaguing employers and the maids in Malaysia.

Malaysian Maid Employers Association (Mama) President Engku Ahmad Fauzi Engku Muhsein said a clearer job description is needed between the agency, maid, and the employer.

“Employers will judge the maids not just by their performance, but also by their attitude.

“Maids, on the other hand, will judge an employer based on whether they are polite, and will pay salaries on time,” he told Sinar Daily.

Fauzi also said the agreement should include a clear job description as it sets the expectations of both parties.

“It should include the duties, the rights and welfare of the maid and employers.

“It’s should be like any normal job contract. Misunderstandings only happen when the parties are not able to justify their arguments as they have no point of reference,” he added.

The salary scope of maids remains vague too, he added.

“Even the recent memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Malaysia and Indonesia does not spell out the salary scale," he said.

The minimum wage for employee in Malaysia will be RM1,500 per month from May onwards, but he said it remains unclear if maids are included in the list.

He suggested that agencies implement performance reviews every six months which should include delivery, quality of work, and good work ethics, among other criteria.

Association of Employment Agencies Malaysia (Papa) president Datuk Foo Yong Hooi said Indonesia has been demanding a salary of RM1,500 from Malaysia.

He was first told the starting salary would be RM1,200, and from next month it would be RM1,500 monthly.

“The Human Resources Ministry tried hard to bargain a better price for Malaysian employers, but Indonesia being a source country, has the upper hand,” he told Sinar Daily.

However, this is quite a high cost, given the fact that employers will usually have to end up paying up to RM3,000 per month after taking into consideration agency fees, lodging, and the meals.

Foo added that agency fees should be reduced if maids are to be paid RM1,500.

He said that high wages are not new, as Filipino maids were paid RM1,680 several years ago after they fought for a minimum wage of $USD400 per month.

“To certain people, RM1,500 is very high.

“I have suggested to the government that either the cost of hiring maids should be reduced or the concept of hourly maids be introduced.

“Another solution is to bring in more maids from other source countries to reduce the fee,” he said.

Foo also highlighted the bureaucratic process of opening up the avenues for Malaysia to source maids from other countries such as Bangladesh.

Recently, human resources minister Datuk M Saravanan was reported as saying that the government did not agree to the RM1,500 salary for Indonesian maids as per the MoU with Indonesia.

He had said that during discussions with Jakarta, the government did not agree to pay maids RM1,500 because the minimum wage in Malaysia at the time was still only RM1,200.