COMPULSORY SEMINAR FOR MAID, EMPLOYER IN MALAYSIA

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 22 (Bernama) -- From next month, all new maids entering
the country and their respective employers will have to attend a seminar meant
to educate them on their rights and responsibilities.

Human Resource Minister S. Subramaniam said it was hoped that the
seminar would help prevent unwanted incidents like maid abuse, theft by maids or
maids absconding, from happening.

The half-day seminar named Seminar and Dialogue on Foreign Maids and
organised by the Manpower Department (JTK) nationwide must be attended within
six months of a maid's entry into the country, he told reporters after launching
a guide book on the employment of foreign maids here Sunday.

"We will get the list of new maids entering the country from the Immigration
Department and use it to notify the parties responsible to attend the compulsory
seminar," he said.

Besides this, Subramaniam said officers of the employment agency involved
would also be made to attend the same seminar so that they could play a more
proactive role in the employment arrangement as sometimes complaints were also
made against them.


He said the guidebook, which outlined the role and responsibilities of each
party in the service contract as well as agencies like the Immigration
Department, JTK and police, would also be made available to the foreign maids at
the seminar.

"It also contains hotline numbers, websites and addresses of the government
agencies to facilitate assistance," he added.

Meanwhile, Subramaniam said Malaysia and Indonesia were currently in talks
to find a "middle path" in resolving the outstanding Indonesian maids salary
issue after their previous discussions ended in a deadlock.

Malaysia had maintained its stand that the salary should be based on market
forces as well as negotiations between employers and employees while Indonesia
proposed to peg the minimum wage at RM800 (US$235).

"I have already met with Indonesian embassy officials and they want to
resolve this as early as possible, we also want the same thing," he said.

-- BERNAMA