RM800 salary for maids 'too high'
Published: Sep 5, 2009 11:07 AM | Updated: Sep 5, 2009 11:12 AM
The minimum monthly salary of RM800 for Indonesian maids is too high and is not affordable to many employers, said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.
The minimum monthly salary of RM800 for Indonesian maids is too high and is not affordable to many employers, said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.
She said that if the minimum salary was implemented, it would force many women to withdraw from the job market as they had to manage their respective households.
"Women's participation in the job market, which is 45.7 percent at the moment, will then decline and this, in turn, will affect the country's economic growth as women are among the country's development assets," she said in a statement.
She was commenting on reports in the Indonesian media yesterday that the country would push for a minimum salary of RM800 a month for its maids at the fourth meeting of the committee overseeing the intakes of Indonesian maids in Jakarta today.
Let market forces set wages
Saying that the Employment Act 1955 did not stipulate any minimum salary for any sector in the country, Shahrizat said the issue of minimum wage for foreign maids should be studied carefully.
"As a country which practices open economy, the salary for any of the employment sectors should be determined by market forces," she said.
She said that Malaysia should not set a minimum salary just for one sector as this would bring about implications to other employment sectors.
On the agreement achieved by Malaysia and Indonesia to allow maids a day off a week, Shahrizat said it was an appropriate move but the implementation mechanism should be looked into in details.
It was reported that the day-off provision would only take effect after the Employment Act 1955 was amended.
- Bernama
She said that if the minimum salary was implemented, it would force many women to withdraw from the job market as they had to manage their respective households. "Women's participation in the job market, which is 45.7 percent at the moment, will then decline and this, in turn, will affect the country's economic growth as women are among the country's development assets," she said in a statement.
She was commenting on reports in the Indonesian media yesterday that the country would push for a minimum salary of RM800 a month for its maids at the fourth meeting of the committee overseeing the intakes of Indonesian maids in Jakarta today.
Let market forces set wages
Saying that the Employment Act 1955 did not stipulate any minimum salary for any sector in the country, Shahrizat said the issue of minimum wage for foreign maids should be studied carefully.
"As a country which practices open economy, the salary for any of the employment sectors should be determined by market forces," she said. She said that Malaysia should not set a minimum salary just for one sector as this would bring about implications to other employment sectors.
On the agreement achieved by Malaysia and Indonesia to allow maids a day off a week, Shahrizat said it was an appropriate move but the implementation mechanism should be looked into in details.
It was reported that the day-off provision would only take effect after the Employment Act 1955 was amended.
- Bernama
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