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SINGAPORE: Fewer foreign maids are choosing to work
in Singapore, with those from Indonesia and the Philippines now
preferring places like Hong Kong and Taiwan, a survey showed Monday.
Local English daily The Straits
Times reported that a check with 20 maid agencies reveals that the
higher pay and a compulsory weekly day off are key factors.
Singapore’s mandatory English
entry test on hygiene and housework, as well as a rule that maids
must be at least 23 years old, also turn some foreign maids away,
the newspaper reported.
Indonesian and Sri Lankan maids
are paid 280 Singapore dollars (about US$207) a month and Filipinas
300 to 350 Singapore dollars (about US$222 to US$260).
In Hong Kong and Taiwan, maids
earn about 690 and 750 Singapore dollars (about US$511 and US$555),
respectively.
There are currently about 170,000
foreign domestic helpers in Singapore, with most from the
Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
Singapore’s comparatively low
wage has led to a shortage of experienced maids, Peter Loh, director
of Swift Arrows Maid, told the newspaper.
“They use Singapore as a
stepping stone before going to Hong Kong and Taiwan. They also try
to pick up some Chinese here to aid them in the future,” he was
quoted as saying.
 --Xinhua
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