Safe keeping of maids’ pay can be tricky

Safe keeping of maids’ pay can be tricky

About 600 complaints from maids about non-payment of salaries were received by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) each year for the last two years, and most involved safe keeping of the money.

Releasing the figures in response to queries from The Straits Times, MOM reiterated that it discourages safe keeping of pay by employers, to minimise misunderstandings and avoid disputes.

Earlier last month, a Singaporean woman was fined $32,000 - the highest so far - for not paying her maid for more than a year. During the two-day trial, Tang Lee Sung, 39, said Ms Astrilia Agustin had agreed to Tang's mother keeping her salary for her and paying her later.

But Tang and her mother did not pay Ms Astrilia when her employment contract ended as they claimed that she did not perform her tasks well. The arrears amounted to more than $5,700.

According to regulations, employers have to pay domestic workers their salaries no later than seven days after the last day of the salary period, which cannot exceed one month.

While safe keeping is a private arrangement, the salary must still be paid in full when the helper asks for it, said MOM.

Failure to do so is tantamount to unlawful withholding of salary, and the employer could be fined up to $10,000 and/or imprisoned for up to a year.

As of June last year, there were 218,300 foreign maids in Singapore.

Out of 10 maids whom The Straits Times spoke to, five said they sign a document drawn up by their employers or employment agencies on their payday but do not receive the cash upfront.

Ms Tini, 23, from Indonesia said: "I ask my (employer) for the money to send back and she will give it to me, or else she keeps." According to the Indonesian Embassy, more than $227,000 in unpaid salaries was owed to domestic workers last year.

Some cases are still being investigated by the embassy, MOM and employment agencies, said counsellor Sukmo Yuwono. "Many employers still do not pay on time."

Mr John Gee, research head of Transient Workers Count Too, agreed: "It's a persistent problem."

Last year, MOM took action against 58 employers who did not pay their maids. The number is down from 72 in 2013. But employers generally comply with the law, the ministry said.

More than 70 maids have sought the help of Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics since the start of the year, said its executive director, Mr Jolovan Wham. It saw 76 cases for the same issue last year.

Maids should "raise alarm bells quickly" if they have not been paid, said Mr Gee, adding that neighbours can help by paying more attention to confined maids.

This is because the amount may snowball, making it harder for employers to fork out the sum at once when they decide to terminate the employment contract or when the maid is due to go home.

Maids thus run the risk of going home "without their full pay or a fraction of it", warned Mr Gee.

There is also the danger that the withheld salary becomes a form of collateral. In the past, employers had sent helpers back, promising to transfer their pay over later but failing to do so, said Ms K. Jayaprema, president of the Association of Employment Agencies Singapore.

To protect both employers and maids, MOM encourages them to sign a written employment contract specifying the pay amount, mode of payment and date.

Another way is for "a licensed employment agent to sign off and declare that everything has been accounted for, so employers cannot send maids off to escape from all this", suggested Nation Employment's managing director Gary Chin.

If employers prefer safe keeping and both parties agree, it should be all right, provided there is a strong enough deterrent to prevent employers from defaulting, he added.

My employer trusts me and I trust her: Maid

When the Wongs first decided to hire a maid to take care of their newborn son, they were uncomfortable with having someone unfamiliar at home.

But after half a year, Mr James Wong and his wife Felicia - both teachers in their 30s - saw Ms Nurhaniyah, 28, as a friend. Ms Nurhaniyah in turn trusts her employers enough for them to keep her bank card - which holds all the money she has earned in Singapore.

The idea of paying Ms Nurhaniyah through a bank account came from Mrs Wong's aunt.

It was mainly for convenience as payment was a monthly, recurring process, said Mr Wong. Added Mrs Wong: "We also wanted something in black and white."

Ms Nurhaniyah agreed to the payment method and also asked the Wongs to hold her bank card for her. She said: "I don't know how to use (the ATM). I'm also scared of (misplacing) the card."

Every month, when she needs money, she asks Mrs Wong for about $100. Her expenses include school fees, food and calling cards. She is pursuing her Secondary 4 studies at Sekolah Indonesia Singapura in Siglap. She sends money back to West Java once every three months.

Her priority is to save as much of her $550 monthly pay as she can to build a house. She bought a plot of land in Indonesia with her savings from working here from 2005 to 2008. She is also saving for her three-year-old son at home. She thinks of safe keeping of her pay as a way for her to take home as much money as she can.

While working for her previous employer, she had to pay for everything - from shampoo to clothes - so she could not save. "But here, 'Mummy' pays for me so I don't spend so much money."

When asked if she was concerned that Mrs Wong might not return the bank card to her, Ms Nurhaniyah said: " 'Mummy' trusts me and I trust her."

Mrs Wong said: "I can always give her back (the bank card), but it's whether she wants it or not."

awcw@sph.com.sg


This article was first published on May 02, 2015.
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