SINGAPORE: A foreign domestic helper with a lot of questions about her agency’s practices took to social media to clarify them.
In her post to Facebook group FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), the maid raised questions on five different issues she faced. In the first, she asked if it was normal that her agent did not give her a copy of both the contract she signed in the Philippines and the contract that she signed in Singapore. She then asked who was responsible to hold her IPA after she entered Singapore. (An in-principle approval (IPA) is one of the requirements to bring migrant workers into Singapore.)
Her third issue – the maid wrote that her agent made her sign a blank piece of paper with a specific monetary amount on it. When she asked the agent what the piece of paper was or if she needed to take a photo of it, the agent simply refused. “why she ask you to sign a blank paper but she put an amount on it .. you ask her what is this or need to take picture but refuses ?” the maid wrote.
She added: “her agency fee is high more than 2,500sgd but when she send you to the employer she make a list for you to sign everymonth when taking (sic) your salary but she indicates here that you owe your employer .. why never tell the true agency fee ?” The helper also asked who should bear the commission fees if a helper recommended a first-timer to work in Singapore. “is it the agent/agency ? or the one who come and work ? (because what i see is they charge it to the new comer and add to her deduction?”
Netizens who commented on the post seemed to be the most worried about her signing a blank piece of paper. Here’s how they responded:
Earlier this year, a foreign domestic helper took to social media asking if the three months of salary that her agency planned to deduct was a normal amount.
In her post, the woman wrote that she had not come to Singapore yet, but added that an agency she reached out to charged her three months’ pay.
In the comments section, many helpers added the varying amounts they had been charged by agencies when they came to work in Singapore. Some even added that they were charged up to eight months of their salary by the agency. According to the Manpower Ministry, maid agencies in Singapore are only allowed to charge foreign domestic workers a month’s salary for each year of work as per the work permit for a maximum of two years (i.e., a maximum of 2 months’ salary). This fee cap includes any fees transferred by the agency used in the FDW’s home country.
Similarly, a maid’s employer cannot deduct more than 50% of her total salary payable in any one salary period.