By Elgin Toh, newsroom intern

A HDB void deck at Spottiswoode Park near Cantonment Road has been turned into a resting place for foreign maids.

When The New Paper on Sunday visited Block 106 at 2.30pm on Tuesday, there were 30 of them in its immediate vicinity.

Some were lying down on benches or resting their heads on the concrete tables.

Others had occupied a nearby pavilion and were chatting in Bahasa Indonesia.

They also wore similar attire: a red polo T-shirt, which turned out to be a maid agency uniform.

Why were the maids there?

NEAR CENTRE FOR MAIDS

It turned out that Block 106 is just next to the testing and training centre that maids have to report to upon arrival in Singapore.

The centre is located in 10 Raeburn Park, a low-rise property with office tenants. It is also a three- to five-minute walk from Block 106.

Run by the National Safety Council of Singapore, the training centre, which moved there in April, conducts the English entry tests and orientation classes compulsory for new maids.

The women often have to wait - sometimes up to three hours - for a class or test to begin.

They used to wait at a waiting room at the centre.

But two weeks ago, the centre told maid agents and 'runners' that from 1 Jul, they would have to pay $1 per maid per day to continue using the room.

'Runners' make a living by helping agencies settle the paperwork for maids and this includes taking them for tests.

It is this new charge that has prompted some 'runners' and agents to leave the maids at the nearby HDB void deck instead.

Mrs Suhaila Musa, 49, a maid agent for three years, is upset with the new charges.

She said: 'Since we are already paying $25 for the class and the test, the centre should provide the holding area for the maids.'

Mrs Suhaila added that she would probably incur the new cost, as she did not approve of leaving maids at the HDB void deck.

Another 'runner', Mr Khoo, 61, said he has tried to voice his disapproval of the new fee, but employees from the centre would just say that 'it's the management's decision'.

The New Paper on Sunday found Miss Than, a 'runner' who represents 25 maid agencies, by the HDB void deck, waiting with three maids.

She said: 'I know it doesn't look good for maids to wait here. But I have no choice. Agencies are not willing to pay this extra dollar.'

When contacted, Mr David Kan, executive manager of the National Safety Council of Singapore, said the service was free previously because the landlord of the property had been allowing the centre to use the waiting room without charge.

$5,000 MONTHLY RENT

But the landlord had just decided to collect a monthly rent of $5,000 from 1 Jul for the 1,000-sq-ft room.

The $1 charge is merely meant for the centre to cover the rental cost.

'We are not making money out of this,' Mr Kan said, adding that the council is a not-for-profit organisation.

The centre hosts 150-200 maids a month, meaning they can collect up to $5,200 by charging the $25 class and test fee and the additional $1 per maid.

Not all agents think $1 is unreasonable.

Mr Eastman Chan, 47, who has been in the business for two years, said: 'Nothing is free. Especially since office space is so expensive nowadays. I won't mind paying $1 if it's for the maids' well-being.'

Mr George Tan, 62, who has been living there for 12 years, said: 'It is not good for the maids to wait here aimlessly. Some residents may feel uncomfortable.'

Another resident, Mrs Keren Ong, 36, said: 'The maids are generally quite well-behaved. But if I see more of them, I might get upset.

'After all, this place used to be very quiet and peaceful.'

This article was first published in The New Paper on July 6, 2008.