M'SIA: MAIDS SHOULD BE GIVEN AT LEAST A DAY OFF

PETALING JAYA (Malaysia), June 3 (Bernama)-- Foreign maids should be given
at least one off day a week to allow them to meet their social needs, suggested
Tenaganita director Irene Fernandez.

She said at present only maids from some countries like Indonesia, Cambodia
and Sri Lanka were denied this benefit.

However, Filipino maids were allowed this benefit because it was in their
contract, said Fernandez in her paper on "Critical View of Exploitation, Abuse
and Work Conditions of Domestic Workers in Malaysia" at the recent National
Consultation on International Labour Organisation (ILO) decent work agenda for
domestic workers.

She said this was because Malaysia had different memorandums of
understanding (MoUs) with different source countries.

She said Malaysian employers needed to be fair to their domestic workers
who were doing a "marvellous job of looking after our future leaders" and urged
the government to amend the Employment Act to provide a day off, medical
benefit, annual leave and social security benefits to this group.

Fernandez said at present they were not covered by the Act as they were not
categorised as workers.

She said so far, Tenaganita had rescued 148 domestic maids, some as young
as 14 years old "who had to work like slaves".

"As long as the government does not address this issue, the situation will
become worse," she added.

Tenaganita is non-governmental organization, which promotes the rights of
migrant workers and other oppressed and poor people in Malaysia.

-- BERNAMA