Latest changes implemented on employing of FDW by MOM

[Hard Truth]

POA Teacher:

Hard Truth:

To africatwin,


I believe that you are an EA.

Can you please tell us why maid agencies jack up the agency fees for placement of maids recently?

As employers we would like to understand the rationale of the big jump in placement fees.

Looking forward to your clarification

Thank you

Hi Hard Truth,
Since africatwin obviously refuses to answer your question, I'll answer on his behalf.
The rationale is simply this: the agents (in SG + in Indon) are determined that no matter what (\"die, die must\") they must collect at least $3,000+ for each maid they bring in. Last year SG govt resticted the agency fees SG side can charge the maid. Now Indon govt stepping in too to restrict what the other side can charge. So there's only one way to make up for the drop in collection--- charge the employers!
They are profiteers, simple as that. Air fare (slightly more than $100 only nowadays), passport and training cost probably add up to only less than a $1000. They probably net from each maid = $2,000+ regardless of whether maid is good or bad. Even if the maid decides to go home after a few days/ weeks here, they earn big $$ cos the maid will have to pay thousands of dollars to them.

Thank you for taking the time to provide the reason.

I won't be surprised if maid agencies will insist that the \"die die must collect\" figure of $3000+ has been inflated by you as you are an employer and not a EA!

I agree that they are profiteers and they blatantly do it knowing that employers will swallow whatever figure they churn out.

They must be taking a big cut out of the advanced maid loan that all employers have to fork out when they take new maids. Hence when the Indo maids now make their own arrangements with banks they lost out on the cut. They now make the employers pay for the cut that they \"lost\" out?

[POA Teacher]

Hard Truth:

I won't be surprised if maid agencies will insist that the \"die die must collect\" figure of $3000+ has been inflated by you as you are an employer and not a EA!

I agree that they are profiteers and they blatantly do it knowing that employers will swallow whatever figure they churn out.

They must be taking a big cut out of the advanced maid loan that all employers have to fork out when they take new maids. Hence when the Indo maids now make their own arrangements with banks they lost out on the cut. They now make the employers pay for the cut that they \"lost\" out?

There's no way the EAs can claim that the $3000+ figure is inflated by me. The maids' loans were $3000+ each. The loans were for their payments to the agencies.

[stsl]

I understand that maid usually pay agent around 8 - 9months of loan, if their salary is $450, that would be a minimum of $3600 excluding of agent fees of $488 from employers.

POA Teacher:

There's no way the EAs can claim that the $3000+ figure is inflated by me. The maids' loans were $3000+ each. The loans were for their payments to the agencies.

[peapot]

I totally agree with POA Teacher. Agents are just out to get profits and more profits!!! Employers not taken care of is nothing new. It will probably stay that way till maybe there’s no more maid in Singapore. Nothing will change.

[Hard Truth]

stsl:

I understand that maid usually pay agent around 8 - 9months of loan, if their salary is $450, that would be a minimum of $3600 excluding of agent fees of $488 from employers.

So now we now. Besides getting the agency fees from the employers, the maid agency also gets a cut from the maid loan that we pay in advance.

Now that they have lost the \"cut\" because Indo maid have to arrange for their own loans, the agency add back to the \"lost\" cut plus their agency fees to make up for the new agency fee of above $1000!!

Employers are certainly a daft lot..supposedly are better educated but easily ripped off my maid agencies.

[peapot]

It’s not that we are daft its because we don’t have database of maid who wants to work here. Nobody wants to pay extra and still get lousy maids. If gov’t were to step in to help us gather the database from the other country we can always arrange direct hire ourselves. It a simple procedure. We need the agent because they hold the database, that’s why they can hold us ransom.

[Hard Truth]

peapot:

It's not that we are daft its because we don't have database of maid who wants to work here. Nobody wants to pay extra and still get lousy maids. If gov't were to step in to help us gather the database from the other country we can always arrange direct hire ourselves. It a simple procedure. We need the agent because they hold the database, that's why they can hold us ransom.

What has the database of maids got to do with the profiteering attitude of the maid agents?

Don't think anybody has got a database of maids wishing to work here. Not even the govt.

Daft because we allow the maid agents to \"anyhow\" set a margin that they feel like, and daft because we do not do anything about it but just complain.

[peapot]

So what is your recommendation then?

[stsl]

But I don't think we can do much thing to make the agent lowering their fees and earn lesser profits? You mean we can really do something?

peapot:

So what is your recommendation then?

[Hard Truth]

peapot:

So what is your recommendation then?

Surely if you believe that Singaporeans are not daft, there should be many recommendations on what can be done isn't it?