Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Outsourcing agencies may bring in maids too (Star)




Outsourcing agencies may bring in maids too

KLANG: Households may soon be able to hire domestic maids from outsourcing agencies if these companies are prepared to bring them in, said Home Affairs Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat.

Outsourcing agencies are currently providing workers for the manufacturing, service, plantation and construction sectors.

“We have not encouraged these companies to bring in maids yet but it should be allowed as domestic maids come under the service industry.

“So if these companies want to bring in maids we will allow them,” he told reporters during a visit to an outsourcing company in Bandar Botanic near here yesterday.

He said, however, that the employers must be prepared to pay higher wages than what they were currently paying their maids.

On the outsourcing concept, Aseh said it was initiated in December 2005 to meet the demand for foreign workers in the country.

He added that 213 companies had been issued licences so far and out of these, 142 had already started to bring in workers.

“So far, 31,493 workers have been brought into the country by these companies,” he said.

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