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More Bangladesh maids for Singapore?
Option in face of shortfall from the Philippines, Indonesia
by Esther Ng
05:55 AM Sep 01, 2010
SINGAPORE - The Association of Employment Agencies Singapore (AEAS) is in preliminary discussions with the Bangladesh authorities to bring in more domestic workers from the country.
The AEAS confirmed with MediaCorp that it visited Bangladesh two weeks ago to explore the feasibility of this and to assess the housekeeping skills and English capability of potential workers.
The trip came on the back of tighter Philippine laws which make it tougher for its citizens to work overseas, as well as a low supply of Indonesian domestic workers.
"AEAS had highlighted that if Bangladeshi domestic workers met the criteria set by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and could meet the expectations of Singapore employers, they may even form up to 20 per cent of the market in Singapore, over time", said association president Shirley Ng.
A recent AFP report quoted a Bangladeshi government official on the possibility of providing 45,000 domestic workers "in a year" to Singapore based on AEAS' projections.
Mr Nurul Islam, director of the government's Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training, was quoted as saying that Singaporean recruiting firms agreed on the number following talks in Dhaka last week.
But Ms Ng reiterated that the inflow of foreign domestic workers (FDWs) is "spread over time" and based on the demand from households. "This is unlike that of the construction or manufacturing industries, where demand for workers is in bulk," she said.
There are currently 190,000 FDWs in Singapore.
However, MediaCorp understands that there are only a few from the South Asian country, mainly working for Bangladeshi diplomatic staff and Bangladeshi families based here.
Language could be a reason why there are not many domestic workers from Bangladesh.
Responding to MediaCorp's queries, an MOM spokesperson noted that Bangladesh is one of several approved source countries for employing FDWs.
The spokesperson said: "The existing labour sources are found to be sufficient to meet current market needs ...
"The number of FDWs from each source will depend on the demand and supply of such FDWs, and, ultimately, whether employers are keen to hire FDWs from that source."
Option in face of shortfall from the Philippines, Indonesia
by Esther Ng
05:55 AM Sep 01, 2010
SINGAPORE - The Association of Employment Agencies Singapore (AEAS) is in preliminary discussions with the Bangladesh authorities to bring in more domestic workers from the country.
The AEAS confirmed with MediaCorp that it visited Bangladesh two weeks ago to explore the feasibility of this and to assess the housekeeping skills and English capability of potential workers.
The trip came on the back of tighter Philippine laws which make it tougher for its citizens to work overseas, as well as a low supply of Indonesian domestic workers.
"AEAS had highlighted that if Bangladeshi domestic workers met the criteria set by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and could meet the expectations of Singapore employers, they may even form up to 20 per cent of the market in Singapore, over time", said association president Shirley Ng.
A recent AFP report quoted a Bangladeshi government official on the possibility of providing 45,000 domestic workers "in a year" to Singapore based on AEAS' projections.
Mr Nurul Islam, director of the government's Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training, was quoted as saying that Singaporean recruiting firms agreed on the number following talks in Dhaka last week.
But Ms Ng reiterated that the inflow of foreign domestic workers (FDWs) is "spread over time" and based on the demand from households. "This is unlike that of the construction or manufacturing industries, where demand for workers is in bulk," she said.
There are currently 190,000 FDWs in Singapore.
However, MediaCorp understands that there are only a few from the South Asian country, mainly working for Bangladeshi diplomatic staff and Bangladeshi families based here.
Language could be a reason why there are not many domestic workers from Bangladesh.
Responding to MediaCorp's queries, an MOM spokesperson noted that Bangladesh is one of several approved source countries for employing FDWs.
The spokesperson said: "The existing labour sources are found to be sufficient to meet current market needs ...
"The number of FDWs from each source will depend on the demand and supply of such FDWs, and, ultimately, whether employers are keen to hire FDWs from that source."
