Jakarta Globe, Straits Times Indonesia | January 22, 2011
Singapore. Seventeen employment agencies here are reportedly raising the monthly salaries of Indonesian domestic helpers from S$380 ($296) to S$450, some immediately.
Nation Employment, Best Home Employment Agency and Java Maids are among the agencies planning the wage increase.
Desmond Chin, group director of Nation Employment, told The Straits Times that the companies believe doing so will help them secure better and more dedicated applicants.
"For a while now, the companies have been finding it difficult to attract quality workers. Many prefer to go to Hong Kong or Taiwan, where they are said to receive salaries of S$650 and S$800, respectively," China said.
While acknowledging that his company will “definitely suffer a loss for one or two months,” Chin was confident that it would prove to be a worthwhile investment.
“The increase will provide employers with longer-term benefits, because they will get quality [in return],” said Chin.
He plans to implement the fee rise within three to four months, once the new batch of helpers come in.
Best Home Employment Agency director, Tan Khoon Beng, and Java Maids manager, Peter Chua, have also confirmed that their companies are planning a wage increase.
Java Maids is planning to increase their fees with the next batch of maids, while Best Home Employment has already increased wages.
Agencies that deal more with domestic workers who have already spent time in Singapore, rather than new helpers from Indonesia, are welcoming the wage increase.
Happy Maids Happy Homes managing consultant, Martin Silva, said that the move will not affect them much as they deal more with expat and wealthy clients who are already paying more for their domestic helpers.
The wage increase would effectively make his rates more competitive, explained Silva.
The salary increase comes on the back of news that fertility rates in Singapore have dipped to a record low. It also looks set to fuel further debates about parenting styles, sparked off by recent reports of Singaporean parents queuing overnight for the elite Nanyang Kindergarten and Yale Professor Amy Chua’s controversial book, “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.”
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