The Cambodian government has appointed the Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies (PAPA) to ensure the welfare of its citizens working as maids in this country. As a start, PAPA is planning to give the maids a mobile phone for use in emergencies.
“We at PAPA will provide them with mobile phones with the contact numbers of the embassy, maid agency and other emergency numbers.
“In case of emergency or if they face problems at their employer’s home, they will have someone to turn to for help,” said PAPA president Jeffrey Foo.
He said bosses must also agree to open a bank account for maids and deposit their salary into the account every month.
“The employers must abide by the rules set by the International Labour Organisation if they want to hire a maid,” he said, adding that these were a maid’s basic rights which should be protected.
Foo said employers would also be required to sign a form stating the maid’s daily chores.
“If the maid is hired to look after the elderly, the children and clean the house, these should be her duties.
“She is not allowed to work in factories or another house.
“We have heard stories of maids suffering abuse who were badly treated by their employers. Such things must not happen again,” he told reporters after signing a memorandum of agreement with Cambodia’s Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training to bring in Cambodian maids.
Foo said with the agreement, Cambodian maids coming to work in Malaysia would have their basic rights protected.
“This is a new milestone for foreign maids and the protection of their rights.”
When asked by reporters how PAPA would ensure that the maids did not run away, Foo said they needed to have a support system.
“If they are facing problems, they can come to us and we will help solve their problems.
“In this way, they will not run away,” he said, adding that employers should treat their maids well so that they work for them for a longer period.
Director-general of Cambodia’s labour ministry Seng Sakda, who was present at the signing ceremony, said they would start recruiting women across the country and train them in relevant skills, including communication, before they could work as maids.
“After two to three months, the girls can come over and work,” he said.
It was reported that the Cambodian government issued a moratorium in 2011 against their citizens coming to Malaysia to work as maids after claims of unpaid salaries, abuse and having to work overtime.
A Cambodian maid working with a couple in Penang reportedly starved to death in 2012.
The couple was sentenced to death by the Court of Appeal for murdering Mey Sichan.
However, Human Resources Minister Richard Riot Jaem said the six-year moratorium had been lifted in May this year.