Only four countries are in the list for now, and Singapore is not among them, reported the Straits Times, September 20, 2011. The four destinations are: Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. It was stressed however, that the list is not final and Singapore could be added later.
The originating source was Indonesian news agency Antara News, which said the country’s Manpower and Transmigration Ministry had done a ‘comprehensive evaluation’ of the places where its maids work, and those destinations’ policies on protecting migrant workers and their rights. Antara quoted the director-general of the ministry’s labour supervision and placement unit, Ms Reyna Usman, as saying the government would allow maids to work only in destinations that were strongly committed to maids’ protection.
The review is part of Indonesia’s efforts to address rising cases of its citizens being abused overseas.
The Straits Times noted in its story that domestic workers in Taiwan and Hong Kong were paid more than in Singapore, and they also get mandatory days off, something they do not get here.
Source: Straits Times, September 30, 2011: Indonesia reviewing where maids can work, by Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja & Zubaidah Nazeer.