Cost of hiring Indonesians in M’sia should be market-based: association

News Desk

The Star

Publication Date : 25-12-2013

The cost structure on hiring Indonesian maids should not be fixed but based on the situation in the market, says the Malaysian National Association of Employment Agencies (Pikap).

Pikap president Raja Zulkepley Dahalan said this was because maid services were not a necessity, unlike electricity and water supply which had to be controlled by the government.

It should be subject to the demand and supply in the market. It is a business and hence it is dynamic, he told reporters at the Pikap office here on Tuesday.

Raja Zulkepley said Malaysian employment agencies could not afford to maintain the 3,000 ringgit (US$910.88) worth of management costs due to price hikes for fuel, toll fees and the electricity tariff.

Indonesian agencies also cannot afford to sell maid biodatas at only 4,800 ringgit ($1,457) when the current market price for the biodata of a maid from Java is about 6,500 ringgit ($1,973), he said.

He said Pikaps proposal to make the cost structure fluid will be included in a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) between them and the Indonesian employment association, Asosiasi Perusahaan Jasa Tenaga Kerja Indonesia (Apjati).

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Cost of hiring Indonesians in M'sia should be market-based: association