PETALING JAYA: Fresh proposals have been submitted for the ‘one maid, one task’ arrangement for domestic workers between Malaysia and Indonesia, says the Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies (Papa).
Waiting to be placed: Maids who have been waiting to come to Malaysia to work have gone instead to other countries like Singapore and Hong Kong due to the border closure.
PETALING JAYA: Maid agencies have applied to bring in new foreign maids since the government’s announcement allowing for new hires but so far no response has been received.
The National Association of Human Resources Malaysia (Pusma) president Zarina Ismail said many of its members have applied to get new domestic helpers through the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS) but no approval had been given.
“We have yet to receive any official directive or proper response on this, ” she said when contacted yesterday.
On the job training: A domestic helper doing chores at her agency’s office before being assigned to work in a home. RAJA FAISAL HISHAN/The Star
PETALING JAYA: The number of Covid-19 cases is declining, movement restrictions are being eased and more business activities are resuming.
But the hiring of foreign domestic helpers is still on the backburner from last year when the contagion first became widespread.
With no clear indication of when borders will reopen, agencies involved in bringing in maids are seeking the green light to resume recruitment since many households need help.
It is timely for the government to immediately reopen the domestic worker sector as many families are struggling to cope, especially those with members who work full time and who have elderly parents to care for, said Association of Employment Agencies (Papa) president Datuk Foo Yong Hooi.
pic).
The Human Resources Minister said Malaysia received the republic’s counter-proposal for the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the Recruitment and Placement of Indonesian Domestic Workers last month.
“We received the counter-proposal through the Foreign Ministry in November.
“We are going through the document and addressing two new conditions, ” he said when contacted by The Star yesterday.
One of the conditions, said Saravanan, was to have the hiring process done via an online system, which Malaysia is supportive of considering the Covid-19 pandemic and shortage of domestic helpers.
“It is doable and important.
I agree that we need a specific system to support this.
PETALING JAYA: Logistical challenges must be addressed in order to contain the Covid-19 outbreaks among the migrant workers community, say employers and workers.
This comes as a surge of cases is expected from the mandatory screening among foreign workers, especially those at construction sites and factories.
The mandatory screening on foreign workers began on Dec 1.
Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan (
pic) said companies are having to make arrangements with the service providers on how best to get their workers screened.
“Employers have to minimise disruption to the operations. They can try to make proper arrangements with the service providers to come to their site to do the screening.