Posted: 25 July 2006 at 7:51pm | IP Logged

The Straits Times Friday, July 21 2006

By Arlina Arshad

When a new standard service contract between maid employers and agencies comes into effect in September, employers will know exactly what they are in for and how much they must pay when they take on - or give up - a maid.

All the fees will be laid out in black and white - in both this service contract and the maid agency's advertisements.

The contract must state a detailed price schedule, comprising the fees employers have to pay, what services these fees cover and the agency's policy on refunds if the maid does not work out.

The agency's advertisements must also spell out these fees and refund policies.

Rolled out yesterday by the Association of Employment Agencies (AEAS) and CaseTrust, the contract will ensure agents meet minimum requirements and employers know all the costs involved in hiring a maid.

Case executive director Seah Seng Choon said of the current lack of consistency among the different agencies: "Some agents give refunds, others don't. Some agents charge only $1 service fee, but later make employers pay 'termination fees' when they want to return the maids.

"The new contract will ensure the agents are trasnparent. No costs are hidden, and all agreement is in written form."

All 500-plus accredited agencies must use the new contract by Sept 15. Employers with maid hired before this date will be bound in this new agreement whtih the maid when they next renew their maid's contract or take on a new maid.

Agents are not to change the terms of this standard contract - or they will risk losing their accreditation, in which case they cannot deploy maids anymore, warned AEAS president Gordon La Faber.

He hopes the new contract will help cut down the number of refund policy disputes AEAS handles - about 30 to 40 a month now.

Requiring all fees payable to be spelt out gets rid of rogue agents who charge employers a service fee of $1 or even nothing - a bargain basement tactic that is made up later by charging maids high placement fees and their employers big penalties when they want to terminate their maid's contract.

A service fee of $900 is more usual in the industry. It covers the agent's work in getting the maid's work permit processed and arranging for her medical check-up, among other services.

Mr La Faber said: "Some employers sign up with the 'zero-dollar' agents without realising how lopsided the contracts are.

"Only when they get in trouble do they realise all the fees they have to incur and it's hard to get themselves out of the agreement."

Under the new contract, employers who want to fire their maids are guaranteed refunds on the placement fee they paid in advance for the maid.

Mr La Faber pointed out that the service contract may lead to a shake-up in the industry beause "like it or not, maid agencies must now provide refunds" when maids are returned ahead of the end of their term.

Agencies offering cheap maids may face "cashflow problems" and may not be able to sustain the offer in the long run, he said.

But one such agency had a defence for its relatively low $288 service fee offer. Mr Richard Goh, who manages the two-month-old Best Helper Employment Agency, said: "We are new so we charge this price to be attractive. So far, no employer has returned our maids. We have done our ground work, and match our maids to our employers well, so we don't expect cancellations,"

A Manpower Ministry (MOM) spokesman said may disputes have arisen over the years between maid agents and employers because of a lack of clarity in the fees payable.

"It is good market practice to provide complete transparent price information," said the MOM spokesman.

While maid agents The Straits Times interviewed praised the new contract for its transparency, they said still more can be done to rid the industry of bad eggs.

Mr Patrick Tan, who manages HRS Employment Agency for 16 years, said MOM should scrap the one-year grace period for new maid agencies before they are accredited.

"MOM is being kind by giving new agents a year to get everything in order. Within a year, some agents break all rules. They exploit loopholes, and break the system.

"Then, they use someone else's name to set up a new agency."