Six years ago in 2011, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen banned domestic workers from travelling to Malaysia for work after reports of abuse and even deaths involving housemaids began to surface.
However, this ban has recently been lifted after Cambodia’s Labour and Vocational Training Ministry director-general Seng Sakda signed a memorandum of agreement with the Malaysian Association of Foreign Maids Agencies (PAPA) yesterday (29th November).
As a result of this agreement, about 300 maids will be entering the country in March 2018.
Source: The Malay Mail
This new agreement has much stricter conditions to ensure incidents of abuse do not recur. Here are some of the conditions that were highlighted in the agreement.
1. These maids will be “mentally and culturally prepared” before entering Malaysia
Source: The Star
In light of reports regarding abuse involving domestic workers, the Cambodian Labour and Vocational Training Ministry director-general highlighted the importance of making sure their maids will be prepared before heading to Malaysia.
“We need time to ensure that the domestic helpers sent here are well prepared culturally and mentally,” Seng Sakda told reporters present during the signing yesterday according to The Star.
2. Maids will require handphones, insurance, and their own bank account
Source: CBC News
Meanwhile, PAPA president Jeffrey Foo ensured that the maids’ welfare will be prioritised, saying,
“At this moment, we are registering all maid agencies and they will have to sign an affidavit with the ministry to ensure that the Cambodian maids are not abused or exploited.”
“Under the agreement, all Cambodian helpers must be given a handphone. The other aspect I can assure is that the helpers will be very prepared to adjust to the Malaysian way of life.”
He added that on average, they receive about 50,000 applications for domestic helpers every month.
On top of that, the memorandum of agreement also dictates that Cambodian maids will need to be protected with insurance, given their own handphones, and have a bank account opened in their name, according to the Malay Mail.
3. Employers will have to sign a pre-hiring agreement to ensure maids aren’t exploited
Source: Loyar Burok
According to the Malay Mail, the memorandum of agreement also clarifies that employers need to sign a pre-hiring agreement clarifying the size of their homes and the types of jobs the maids are expected to do.
“We want to be strict this time. When we do this, the maids will know beforehand what kind of tasks await them and they are not exploited to work in other sectors,” said the PAPA president.
“The employers will then be liable and can be brought to book should the Cambodian worker be exploited or abused.”
So, if you’re looking to hire a Cambodian domestic worker in the future, it’s best to keep these points in mind!
Also read: Maid Graduates with Diploma Thanks to Kind Employers Who Helped Finance Her Studies
