Indonesian maid salary to be increased to $450???
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DesertWind:
Am glad that you got such a good maid!
Agree with Funz. My helper has the same attitude as above.autumnbronze:
[quote=\"Funz\"]
Yah. And those who have good attitudes will generally not look solely at salary. For these girls, stability, a good working environment, and good relations with their employers are more important. Plus I guess, over the years, they have formed some attachment to our families, especially our kids.
According to our maid agency, the $450 pay is not compulsory.
We have just renewed ours for $400, no off day.
But we cover all other aspects of her expenses, ie toiletries, phonecards etc ... She does get hefty ang pows and bonuses annually too.
This is her third year with us and she has been a gem.
We are very fortunate
It is a good idea for those of us thinking of \"risking\" the maid to check with your maid agency directly whether they increase the new maid's pay or not to SGD450? If they don't practise this yet, then presumably maid cannot return back to agency and then hope to get the higher pay. But if the maid agency is one of the \"cartels\", then you may have to consider matching the pay....
:celebrate:[/quote]Hi DesertWind,
Thanks :celebrate:
Don't think he is one of the cartels lah. He is actually very strict with his maids because I have seen him 'handling' them when they misbehave. He is also very particular about his reputation and takes pride in his selection of maids. I also find him fair. He can actually tell when the maid is lying and whether the employer has been fair with the maid. I had a chance to experience this when I was at the agency and saw him tackle a matter with the maid.
Actually, we have been maintaining very good relations with the agency. We made it a point to do that by only liasing with the boss, who will then direct us to someone responsible in his company. We go thru the agency for all renewal matters as well.
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jtoh:
I agree. Even if she goes home and comes back to work for a new employer, she's likely to draw a salary of $450 rather than $500, plus she has to pay off her loan.[/quote]By the way, just to share, we almost confirm someone a few weeks ago at $450, but she apparently got her employer to pay her $500 thereafter. The point is, there is no way to know if your maid actually got offers at $500 outside.CMF:
[quote=\"sheryl\"]Yes, DH is thinking of $450. If she dun accept, we will just let her go. Dun want her to be yaya or play hard to get.
When u offer her $450, u should work thru with her that since there will be no agent's fees involved, as opposed to her going home and coming back again and being able to get $500, she will be effectively be better off staying on with u. As straight away she will be pocketing cash of $450 vs at least 6 months of deduction of $200-$300 even if she will be able to get $500 with new employer. Sometimes, they are not very far sighted and don't realize such details. -
Busymom:
By the way, just to share, we almost confirm someone a few weeks ago at $450, but she apparently got her employer to pay her $500 thereafter. The point is, there is no way to know if your maid actually got offers at $500 outside.[/quote]True. But in this case it was her current employer who was willing to pay her $500. If they go home then come back again they would probably have to start from $450 again.
I agree. Even if she goes home and comes back to work for a new employer, she's likely to draw a salary of $450 rather than $500, plus she has to pay off her loan.jtoh:
[quote=\"CMF\"]
When u offer her $450, u should work thru with her that since there will be no agent's fees involved, as opposed to her going home and coming back again and being able to get $500, she will be effectively be better off staying on with u. As straight away she will be pocketing cash of $450 vs at least 6 months of deduction of $200-$300 even if she will be able to get $500 with new employer. Sometimes, they are not very far sighted and don't realize such details. -
From what I heard is
$400 for new maid
$450 for experienced maid.
I believe the $400 is imposed by the Indonesia’s side. Not all maids want to go HK or Taiwan to work. Some maids still want to come here. It’s the Indonesian agent trying to play the game and they have played it well. They can tell the maids over there a story and they can purposely release the bio-data only to HK or Taiwan customers. When the maid salary goes up, ALL agents will earn more in commission. In Singapore we get a feeling that no maids want to come here.
For new maids who is not fluent in English and come from Kampong, they won’t have the confidence to work in HK or Taiwan. Language is a big hindrance. At least in Singapore some of us still can speak or understand Malay. These maids will want to come to Singapore to make money first. Its all the Indonesian agent’s tricks. -
My maid just requested to be send back to the agency and I was quite mad about it. Her complain is that she is always getting scolding from my wife but the point is that she has zero work initiative so getting scolded is part of the learning process.
6 months ago - Skinny, couldn’t speak english, poor housekeeping standard, cannot cook, don’t even wash car and not to mention looking after children.
After 6 months - 1. put on 10 kg (She eat whatever the family eat, be it at food court or restaurant. We even give her B&J and Magnum ice cream plus she sleep at 10pm every nite) 2. Finally able to communicate in english and cantonese (My DD give her daily English lesson) 3. Can manage to upkeep the house on her own but need regular checking 4. Can cook simple dishes 5. She manage the cleaniness of my car on her own (after many rounds of scolding of course).
We painfully took effort to coach and take care of her but in the end she felt that we are ill treating her. Try talking to her but she bend on going back to her agent. I smell a rat about the whole episode but what can I do. We might decide to move on without any maid in our house coz wifey is trying to get one directly from our friend in medan Indonesia. In Medan their monthly salary is only $70-$90 so $350 is alot to them and there are plenty to choose from. Those agencies saying maid shortage in 238 million population Indonesia is bulls stories. -
Today’s Straits Times reported that the 17 agencies are being question by the govt. for anti-competition action. Not sure what would be the outcome.
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DesertWind:
Today's Straits Times reported that the 17 agencies are being question by the govt. for anti-competition action. Not sure what would be the outcome.
forming a cartel is anti-competition
who are they to impose minimum pay ? -
DesertWind:
Today's Straits Times reported that the 17 agencies are being question by the govt. for anti-competition action. Not sure what would be the outcome.
Does anyone has this article. -
peapot:
Just heard on news that Taiwan is thinking to bar all philipino workers (domestic and otherwise) becos Phil govt refuse to apologise for repatriating some Taiwanese to China (instead of Taiwan). Phil govt flew someone there but still refuse to say sorry. So Taiwan could be out for Phil. And then there is story about Saudi Arabia refusing to allow Indo domestic from working in Saudi becos they blow up the negative stories. Plus Malaysia is practically closed to Indos due to ongoing dispute.Not all maids want to go HK or Taiwan to work. Some maids still want to come here. It's the Indonesian agent trying to play the game and they have played it well. They can tell the maids over there a story and they can purposely release the bio-data only to HK or Taiwan customers. When the maid salary goes up, ALL agents will earn more in commission. In Singapore we get a feeling that no maids want to come here.
For new maids who is not fluent in English and come from Kampong, they won't have the confidence to work in HK or Taiwan. Language is a big hindrance. At least in Singapore some of us still can speak or understand Malay. These maids will want to come to Singapore to make money first. Its all the Indonesian agent's tricks.
I wonder if these host countries will really close the door and if such happen, then where are those agents going to place their maids. -
SEVERAL maid agencies have been called up by the anti-competition watchdog, following earlier reports that they would raise the pay of new maids from $380 to $450.
The Straits Times understands that they were also requested by the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) to provide various documents, including their financial statements.
The CCS confirmed on Tuesday that it is 'investigating the matter', but declined to elaborate as investigations are ongoing.
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_637952.html
Those called up were among some 17 maid agencies - said to be major ones - which reportedly agreed last month to the pay hike in order to alleviate a supply crunch.
The move swiftly drew allegations of price-fixing and profiteering from other maid agencies and employers.
It also triggered concerns among employers that they could be held hostage by their domestic helpers, who may request for a similar pay increase.
Read the full story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.
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