Friday June 19, 2009
Many against day off for maids
PETALING JAYA: More than 75% of respondents in an SMS poll conducted by The Star are against the idea of granting maids a day off every week.
Yesterday’s poll, which asked if maids should be given one rest day a week, drew a total of 769 respondents over 11 hours.
About 76.1% or 585 respondents said “no,” while 23.9% or 184 respondents said “yes.”
The Human Resources Ministry proposed the move earlier this week in an effort to curb abuse of foreign domestic maids.
The proposal has drawn mixed response, with civil society groups lauding it and others – mainly employers of maids – against it.
The ministry has also welcomed views from all parties on the proposed move.
Deputy minister Senator Datuk Maznah Mazlan said their views would be brought to the attention of the Cabinet.
“We will listen to the views of all parties and I believe this matter will also be discussed in the Cabinet,” she told reporters after opening the Federal Malaysian Manufacturers Industrial Relations Conference in George Town yesterday.
Maznah said this when asked to comment on objections by some employers that the move would create more problems.
Meanwhile, the Bar Council has urged for the Employment Act to be amended to protect both local and foreign domestic workers.
Its president Ragunath Kesavan, while welcoming the ministry’s proposal, said more is needed to be done to protect the rights of these workers.
“This is a small step forward in upholding the rights of thousands of domestic workers who are prone to severe abuse and labour exploitation as they receive scant protection under the Employment Act.
“Currently, numerous terms of the Act are specifically inapplicable to domestic workers,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Domestic workers, he said, were not entitled to paid annual leave, sick leave or limitations to the number of hours they should work.
He said the compulsory day off requirement should also be included in the individual employment contracts.
The council also suggested limiting the types or amount of work required such as working at the employer’s home and place of business or at a friend’s place.
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