New rules in Singapore for hiring Myanmar maids
After years of not actively enforcing what it once regarded as an illicit cross-boundary trade, Myanmar has legalised the export of maids and drawn up rules to better protect its women abroad.
The rules have been communicated to agents in Singapore in recent weeks, three of which will affect employers in the city-state.
First, Myanmar maids must receive a minimum monthly wage of S$450 (Bt11,485).
Second, they must get at least a day off in a month, according to Myanmar newspaper reports.
Third, their recruitment fees must not exceed four months of their salary.
But agents in Singapore said that the rules have yet to be implemented, and could remain loosely enforced for some time.
Most Myanmar maids arriving here are still being paid between S$400 and S$430, and do not get any days off. They are also charged up to eight months of salary – or more than S$3,000 – in recruitment fees, which lets employers pay fees as low as S$300.
