http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailgeneral.asp?fileid=20070516143130&irec=0
KL considers punishing agencies for runaway maids KUALA LUMPUR (AP): A Malaysian minister wants recruitment agencies penalized if the foreign maids they place with local households run away from their employers, which happens about 1,200 times a month, reports said Wednesday. Most of the foreign maids working in Malaysia are from neighboring Indonesia, and employers usually pay about 2,400 ringgit (US$707; euro522) to a placement agency for arranging the introduction. If a maid goes missing, however, employers must pay an additional 250 ringgit (US$71; euro52) fee to cancel her work permit, while a placement agency can earn a new 2,400 ringgit fee by placing her with a new employer. Home Affairs Minister Radzi Sheikh Ahmad said agencies should be fined or suspended over runaways, especially if they are found to have "recycled" maids by encouraging them to abscond and then replacing them with new employers, The Star reported. About 1,200 runaway cases per month have been recorded in recent years, he was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times. "Each time a maid runs away, the employer is slapped with a fine and the agency is not culpable for anything. It is time something is done about this. We have to look at penalizing the agency too," he said in the report. Radzi and ministry officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Radzi was quoted as saying his ministry had received many complaints that local agencies and Indonesian agents were charging higher fees than the 2,400 ringgit agreed in an accord between Malaysia and Indonesia in May 2006. He said elements of the accord favor agencies over employers, and he was expected to discuss some of these problems with Indonesian officials at the end of the month, The Star said. The government also is looking at other countries such as India, Laos, Nepal, Vietnam, Turkistan and Kazakhstan to fulfill Malaysia's demands for maids, Radzi said in the reports. Malaysia relies heavily on foreign laborers for menial work, and Indonesians form the bulk of the domestic work force. More than 300,000 Indonesian women are currently employed as housemaids in Malaysia. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
