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Ministry warns maid agencies
14 found bringing in underage girls; four given demerit points
By Teh Joo Lin
THE Manpower Ministry (MOM) said yesterday it has found underage maids working here and has issued warnings to 14 employment agencies this year for flouting the rule.
Four of the agencies were also issued demerit points, which put them at risk of losing their licence.
This is the first time the ministry is releasing such figures since 2005, when the minimum age requirement for foreign maids was raised from 18 to 23 years old.
The issue has come under the spotlight following the case of Indonesian maid Nurhayati, who has been charged with murdering her employer's disabled 12-year-old daughter last month.
It emerged in court last week that the maid, whose travel document stated that she is 24, is in fact only 16.
MOM told The Straits Times yesterday that it is in the process of revoking the licence of the agency that brought her in. The agency, which is not named, had been under investigation for other offences.
The ministry is also sending a circular to agencies to warn them against bringing in underage maids.
'MOM does not condone the employment of underage foreign domestic workers in Singapore,' it said. 'We will continue to step up our surveillance and enforcement efforts.'
Despite the minimum age rule going into force five years ago, agencies say it is not unusual for maids to fake their age in order to work here.
Many parents in Indonesian villages, for instance, want their children to start working right after they graduate from high school - usually at the age of 17 - to support the family.
Recruiters also claim that the more mature and experienced maids tend to choose to work in places such as Hong Kong, where the pay is higher.
Agencies here say it is difficult to determine the age of the maids because they come from countries that may not keep proper identification records.
While that may be true, MOM stressed that agencies also play a key role because they are the first point of contact for maids, and the intermediary between the latter and employers.
Agencies should also exercise due diligence in verifying a maid's age, said MOM, including interviewing her and verifying her documents.
On the part of the ministry, current safeguards in place include verifying the maid's particulars against her official passport details when she reports to the Work Pass Services Centre for finger-printing. Staff at the centre also interview maids selectively.
Ms Shirley Ng, president of the Association of Employment Agencies Singapore, said agencies generally try their best to ensure the accuracy of a maid's age by checking her documents.
Some also personally interview maids in their source countries, although they are barred from doing so in nations such as Myanmar. But she pointed out: 'Even then, there is no guarantee that agencies are 100 per cent definite that the maid is the age that she claims to be.'
Employers who discover that their maids are underage should report the matter to MOM by calling 6438-5122 or e-mailing [email protected]
14 found bringing in underage girls; four given demerit points
By Teh Joo Lin
THE Manpower Ministry (MOM) said yesterday it has found underage maids working here and has issued warnings to 14 employment agencies this year for flouting the rule.
Four of the agencies were also issued demerit points, which put them at risk of losing their licence.
This is the first time the ministry is releasing such figures since 2005, when the minimum age requirement for foreign maids was raised from 18 to 23 years old.
The issue has come under the spotlight following the case of Indonesian maid Nurhayati, who has been charged with murdering her employer's disabled 12-year-old daughter last month.
It emerged in court last week that the maid, whose travel document stated that she is 24, is in fact only 16.
MOM told The Straits Times yesterday that it is in the process of revoking the licence of the agency that brought her in. The agency, which is not named, had been under investigation for other offences.
The ministry is also sending a circular to agencies to warn them against bringing in underage maids.
'MOM does not condone the employment of underage foreign domestic workers in Singapore,' it said. 'We will continue to step up our surveillance and enforcement efforts.'
Despite the minimum age rule going into force five years ago, agencies say it is not unusual for maids to fake their age in order to work here.
Many parents in Indonesian villages, for instance, want their children to start working right after they graduate from high school - usually at the age of 17 - to support the family.
Recruiters also claim that the more mature and experienced maids tend to choose to work in places such as Hong Kong, where the pay is higher.
Agencies here say it is difficult to determine the age of the maids because they come from countries that may not keep proper identification records.
While that may be true, MOM stressed that agencies also play a key role because they are the first point of contact for maids, and the intermediary between the latter and employers.
Agencies should also exercise due diligence in verifying a maid's age, said MOM, including interviewing her and verifying her documents.
On the part of the ministry, current safeguards in place include verifying the maid's particulars against her official passport details when she reports to the Work Pass Services Centre for finger-printing. Staff at the centre also interview maids selectively.
Ms Shirley Ng, president of the Association of Employment Agencies Singapore, said agencies generally try their best to ensure the accuracy of a maid's age by checking her documents.
Some also personally interview maids in their source countries, although they are barred from doing so in nations such as Myanmar. But she pointed out: 'Even then, there is no guarantee that agencies are 100 per cent definite that the maid is the age that she claims to be.'
Employers who discover that their maids are underage should report the matter to MOM by calling 6438-5122 or e-mailing [email protected]
