Weekly day off for foreign maids in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP)—Foreign maids working in Malaysia will soon get one day off a week as part of a bid to improve working conditions for domestic helpers from overseas, according to a minister.

Human resources minister S. Subramaniam told state media late Tuesday his ministry was amending the Employment Act to make it compulsory for employers to give maids a day off.

He said it was part of moves to prevent the abuse of domestic workers in Malaysia—most of whom are from Indonesia—who are not covered by legislation that protects foreign workers in other sectors like construction.

“The ministry will make it mandatory for all domestic helpers to sign (a) contract of employment containing provisions like salary, the name of employers, their workplaces, and the compulsory one day off a week,” Subramaniam was quoted as saying.

“We may be able to implement it this year,” he added, but did not give a date as to when the law would be amended.

Subramaniam said the off day would be jointly determined by employer and employee while the domestic helper could forgo the rest day as long as they were compensated for it.

Last month, the government said it was coming out with new laws to protect domestic workers from sexual harassment, non-payment of wages, and poor working conditions.

Malaysia—one of Asia’s largest importers of labor—last year hosted an estimated 2.2 million foreign workers, including domestic maids as well as workers in the plantation and manufacturing sectors.

Malaysia has no laws governing working conditions for domestic workers.

Indonesian maids often work long hours, seven days a week, for a wage as low as 120 dollars a month. However, the Philippines insists on contracts stipulating payment and regular days off for its citizens working here.
Philippine government figures as of December 2007 put the number of Filipinos working in Malaysia at about 250,000.