Talks on maids fail because of Putrajaya’s demands [Cambodian maids in Malaysia]

[geovalin]

Talks with the Cambodian Government to recruit its citizens as maids have stalled after Putrajaya rejected most of the provisions aimed at protecting domestic workers’ rights.

The Cambodia Daily said Putrajaya returned a draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) prepared by Phnom Penh, crossing out a line referring to “employers should respect the basic human rights of the DW (domestic worker)”.

The Government had also rejected a maid’s right to keep her passport, scrutinise and sign the employment contract before leaving Cambodia, provided with three meals daily and annual leave.

“The Malaysian side has rejected about 90% of the amendments that were put in,” said Jenna Holiday, a United Nations communications specialist.

“Some of the Malaysian edits are unacceptable,” she told the daily.

“It raises the question of how Malaysian employers view their Cambodian employees.”

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen suspended the sending of domestic workers to Malaysia in 2011 following reports of maid abuse, including sexual exploitation and forced labour by both Malaysian employers and Cambodian recruitment agencies.

In October this year, Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced that Malaysia would resume hiring Cambodian maids because of problems related to recruiting Indonesian maids.

Ahmad Zahid said some 30,000 Cambodian maids were currently in Malaysia.

The Cambodian Government had agreed to set up a training centre to educate maids on language, culture and work ethics before sending them to Malaysia.

In return, Malaysia had promised to improve Cambodian’s immigration management and passport system.

Last Thursday, after nearly three years of talks, Malaysia and Indonesia allowed recruitment agencies from both sides to resume sending Indonesian domestic maids to Malaysia.

The agreement was reached between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at their annual consultation.

Some 127,000 Indonesian maids are currently registered in Malaysia.

Cambodia’s secretary of state at the Ministry of Labour Othman Hassan is keen to end the moratorium.

“The more we can send, the more money we can earn and the more money comes back to Cambodia,” Othman said to the daily.

Othman said that the country aimed to send 300,000 maids to Malaysia and that he would “work hard to protect migrant workers from exploitation”.

Representatives from the Malaysian and Cambodian Governments, UN, the International Labour Organisation and non-governmental organisations are scheduled to meet in late January for another round of discussions.

“They can’t provide three meals per day? They can’t give a minimum wage? They won’teven allow a person to hold on to her passport?” asked Morn Nhim, president of the National Independent Federation Textile Union of Cambodia.

“If they can’t even guarantee our people their basic human rights, why should we send our people to Malaysia to suffer?” Monr Nhim told the Cambodia Daily. – December 25, 2013.

source

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/talks-on-maids-fail-because-of-putrajayas-demands-says-cambodian-daily