11 April 2010

Di Singapura, 28% Majikan Memutus Kontrak Kerja Para PRT Migran dalam Tiga Bulan?

Sumber: Employing Maid in Singapore

Jejak Silang Budaya LARANTUKA

Kompas, Minggu, 11 April 2010

Benteng itu sudah lama hancur. Yang masih tersisa hanya fondasi yang tertutup lumut, dengan beberapa bongkah batu di atasnya. Sebuah meriam tua tergeletak di tanah, tertimbun dedaunan kering. Inilah fortaleza (benteng pertahanan), salah satu jejak kedatangan Portugis di Pulau Solor, Nusa Tenggara Timur, hampir 500 tahun lalu.

Setelah menaklukkan Maluku sekitar tahun 1511, kapal-kapal Portugis pertama kali merapat ke Pulau Solor, sekitar 80 kilometer dari Larantuka, pada tahun 1556. Solor menjadi incaran karena pulau ini kaya akan kayu cendana meskipun saat ini tak ada lagi bekasnya. Kayu cendana sudah punah di sana. Kalaupun ada, tinggal beberapa batang pohon yang tumbuh alamiah di hutan-hutan sekitar.

Kekuasaan Portugis tak bertahan lama di Solor karena harus berhadapan dengan kekuatan kolonial lain, pasukan Belanda. Mereka lantas bergeser dari Pulau Solor ke Larantuka.

Pergeseran ini membuat sejumlah tradisi Lamaholot (Flores Timur daratan, Pulau Adonara, Solor, Lembata, dan Pulau Alor) terpengaruh. Budaya Portugis—yang kental dengan ritual agama Katolik—mengakar dalam kehidupan sehari-hari warga lokal.

Raja Larantuka saat itu, Ola Ado Bala (raja ke-11), pun mengubah namanya menjadi Don Fransisco Ola Ado Bala Diaz Viera Deo Godinho (DVG), atau lebih dikenal sebagai Don Fransisco Ola Ado Bala DVG. Gelar DVG kemudian dikenakan kepada raja-raja sesudahnya, sampai Raja Andreas Martinho DVG (saat ini).

Setelah Raja mengganti namanya, warga Larantuka pun beramai-ramai menggunakan nama-nama Portugis. Sebanyak 13 suku di Larantuka yang tadinya menggunakan nama suku Lamaholot berubah menjadi suku Fernandez, suku Da Silva, suku De Rosari, suku Da Costa. Juga Da Santo, Gonzales, Ribeiru, Skera, atau De Ornay.

Sejumlah tradisi Lamaholot pun berangsur berubah atau malah hilang, seperti kepercayaan kepada "Rera Wulan Tana Ekan" (penguasa langit dan bumi) dan penghormatan ke Gunung Ile, yang dianut masyarakat di wilayah itu jauh sebelum Portugis menginjakkan kaki di Larantuka. Kepercayaan ini meluas di seluruh masyarakat Lamaholot dan menjiwai seluruh kehidupan mereka, baik dalam pembacaan mantra, syair, maupun pantun tradisional.

Titik temu

Tokoh masyarakat Larantuka, Pieter Da Santo, di Kupang, Kamis (8/4), menyebutkan, dalam bahasa Lamaholot, Larantuka berarti "jalan tengah" atau "titik temu". Hal itu pas dengan kondisi saat ini, yaitu Larantuka menjadi titik pertemuan masyarakat dari Pulau Adonara, Lembata, Solor dan masyarakat dari daratan Pulau Flores. "Larantuka juga menjadi pusat pertemuan budaya Lamaholot, Portugis, dan Melayu yang dibawa para pedagang," katanya.

Dari sisi tradisi, Larantuka juga menjadi magnet bagi masyarakat sekitarnya. Meski secara politik pulau-pulau sekitar Larantuka ingin memisahkan diri dan menjadi kabupaten mandiri, pada perayaan-perayaan keagamaan, masyarakat dari pulau-pulau sekitar tetap menganggap Larantuka sebagai "pusat".

Dr Theresia Kumanireng, mantan dosen Universitas Nusa Cendana Kupang, yang melakukan penelitian khusus mengenai pengaruh bahasa dan budaya asli Larantuka dengan budaya Portugis dan Melayu, menemukan bahwa Portugis dan para penyiar agama juga memperkenalkan bahasa Melayu ke Larantuka. Bahasa Melayu yang telah menjadi bahasa Larantuka tampak dari penggalan-penggalan kalimat seperti "beri torang ae dike se" (beri kita orang air sedikit), "pagari" (pagi hari), dan juga "kelao- kedara" (ke laut dan ke darat).

Bisa dikatakan, bahasa Larantuka merupakan "campuran" 70 persen bahasa Melayu, 20 persen bahasa Portugis, 0,5 persen bahasa Belanda, serta sisanya merupakan bahasa Lamaholot, Latin, dan Arab. Penguasaan bahasa Melayu, pendidikan dan kesehatan yang diperkenalkan Portugis pada masa lalu membuat warga Larantuka saat itu merasa diri sebagai kelompok cerdik-pandai, berbudaya, dan modern.

Kini warga Lamaholot di Adonara, Solor, Lembata, dan sekitarnya sudah jauh berkembang. Di Pulau Adonara, misalnya, dengan jumlah penduduk 120.000 jiwa, saat ini telah ada 29 doktor dari berbagai disiplin ilmu yang mengabdi sebagai dosen di sejumlah perguruan tinggi di NTT.

Larantuka dan sekitarnya merupakan kepingan kecil dari wajah Indonesia yang secara kultural terbentuk dari pergaulan lintas budaya, lintas bangsa.

(KORNELIS KEWA AMA/ARBAIN RAMBEY)

Mennakertrans: Polisi agar Segera Periksa Penipu 31 Calon TKI

Kompas, Minggu, 11 April 2010

Jakarta, Kompas - Menteri Tenaga Kerja dan Transmigrasi Muhaimin Iskandar meminta agar polisi segera bertindak dengan memeriksa orang yang melakukan penipuan terhadap 31 calon tenaga kerja asal Indramayu, Jawa Barat, yang dijanjikan bekerja di Selandia Baru. Untuk keperluan itu, Kementerian Tenaga Kerja dan Transmigrasi sudah berkoordinasi dengan Dinas Sosial dan Tenaga Kerja Indramayu.

Mennakertrans menyampaikan hal itu dalam layanan pesan singkat (SMS), kepada Kompas, ketika dimintai tanggapannya, Sabtu (10/4) petang.

Ia menanggapi tentang terkatung-katungnya nasib 31 calon TKI Indramayu yang dijanjikan bekerja di Selandia Baru. Para calon TKI yang semuanya laki-laki itu dijanjikan diberangkatkan pada Oktober 2009. Lalu, mereka dijanjikan lagi diberangkatkan sekitar Februari-April 2010. Terakhir, pekan lalu, mereka dijanjikan diberangkatkan pada Mei hingga Agustus 2010 (Kompas, 10/4).

Menurut Muhaimin, dari hasil pertemuan dengan Duta Besar Indonesia di Selandia Baru, informasi tentang pengiriman TKI itu tidak benar. "Itu palsu. Kami sudah minta polisi segera bertindak memeriksa yang melakukan penipuan," katanya.

Namun, Kepala Satuan Reserse Kriminal Kepolisian Resor (Polres) Indramayu Ajun Komisaris Andry Kurniawan, ketika menghubungi Kompas, Sabtu malam, menyatakan belum mengetahui ada permintaan resmi tentang hal itu. Andry menyatakan masih hendak melakukan koordinasi terlebih dahulu dengan instansi terkait, seperti Dinas Sosial dan Tenaga Kerja Indramayu.

Kasus lain

Ketika ditanya mengapa Polres Indramayu tidak segera merespons permintaan Mennakertrans pada Januari lalu agar polisi segera mengusut kasus penipuan terhadap 31 calon TKI itu, Andry menyatakan, pihaknya sudah melakukan pengusutan.

Namun, pengusutan yang dilakukan Polres Indramayu tersebut terkait kasus lain. Pengusutan yang dilakukan adalah dilaporkannya Rony Meseni, Manajer Riset dan Pengembangan Bursa Kerja Luar Negeri (BKLN) Wira Ayu Mandiri (WAM) Indramayu karena telah menyalahgunakan jabatannya saat merekrut 31 calon TKI itu. Dengan mengaku sebagai pemimpin BKLN WAM, Rony bekerja sama dengan BKLN Pusat Peranserta Masyarakat (PPM) untuk memberangkatkan para pencari kerja itu. Kerja sama lalu diputuskan BKLN PPM Desember 2009, setelah tahu Rony bukan pemimpin WAM.

Pengusutan kasus itu juga berjalan tersendat meski telah dilaporkan ke Polres Indramayu sejak Desember lalu. Terkait itu, Andry menyatakan, pemeriksaan tersendat karena Koordinator Nasional BKLN PPM Maria Budi Fatani tidak datang meski telah dua kali dipanggil untuk diperiksa sebagai saksi.

Saat ditanya kapan panggilan kedua dikirim ke Maria, Andry mengaku lupa karena sudah lama. "Kami sibuk mengurus masalah lain," katanya, seraya menambahkan akan melayangkan panggilan ketiga kepada Maria.

Saat hendak dikonfirmasi kemarin melalui SMS ke dua nomor telepon selulernya, Maria tidak memberi jawaban.

Mengenai perekrutan 31 calon TKI yang disebut Mennakertrans sebagai penipuan itu, Andry menyatakan, pihaknya pasti akan melakukan pengusutan dan menindak pelaku penipunya. (mul)

TKI, Derita Tiada Akhir

Kompas, Minggu, 11 April 2010

Tangis menyayat hati pecah di sudut kamar jenazah RS Bhayangkara, Surabaya, Rabu (7/4). Jenazah Musdi (38), Abdul Sunu (39), dan Muchlis (25), yang dinyatakan tewas oleh Polis Diraja Malaysia pada 16 Maret 2010, telah kaku. Jenazah-jenazah itu diotopsi ulang oleh ahli forensik untuk memastikan penyebab kematian mereka.

Kematian mereka menimbulkan kontroversi karena menurut media Malaysia yang mengutip keterangan resmi Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM), ketiga pria asal Sampang, Madura, Jawa Timur, itu dituduh telah berkali-kali merampok. Bahkan, saat PDRM mengaku menangkap mereka, Selasa (16/3) pukul 03.30 di Kota Puteri, ketiga pria yang tercatat sebagai TKI itu menyerang polisi dengan pistol dan parang sehingga ditembak mati.

Namun, sebaliknya, menurut keterangan sesama TKI yang bekerja bersama Musdi, Abdul Sunu, dan Muchlis, teman mereka dijemput polisi dari sebuah warnet di Lantai I Wisma Harmoni di Selangor, Selasa pukul 00.30.

"Tahu-tahu mereka dikabarkan tewas, Selasa pukul 03.30, setelah terjadi kejar-mengejar mobil. Padahal, sesama TKI yang bekerja bersama mereka mengaku ketiga WNI yang tewas itu tidak bisa memandu kereta (mengemudi mobil). Banyak keterangan yang ganjil dalam kasus itu," ujar Atase Penerangan Kedutaan Besar Republik Indonesia (KBRI) Kuala Lumpur Widyarka Ryananta yang dihubungi dari Jakarta, Jumat.

Ketiga WNI yang tewas ditembak merupakan puncak gunung es penderitaan TKI di Malaysia. Sepanjang tahun 2009, tercatat 1.170 kasus TKI bermasalah di KBRI Kuala Lumpur.

Kepala Bidang LO dan Perbatasan National Central Bureau (NCB) Mabes Polri Komisaris Besar Minton Mariati Simanjuntak, Jumat, mengatakan, mayoritas kasus soal tenaga kerja adalah gaji yang tidak dibayar. "Kasus terbanyak adalah TKI yang tidak menerima gaji, yakni sebanyak 60 persen, tenaga kerja di bawah umur mencapai 20 persen, korban penganiayaan mencapai 10 persen, dan korban pelecehan seksual serta dilacurkan masing-masing lima persen," ujar Simanjuntak.

Rincian dari kasus TKI bermasalah adalah 211 orang yang gajinya tidak dibayar, pekerja di bawah usia (56 kasus), penyiksaan dan gaji yang tidak dibayar (114 kasus), kondisi kerja yang tidak sesuai (380 orang), pelecehan (53 kasus), status imigrasi ilegal (177 kasus), dan lain-lain (179 kasus).

Jumlah kasus TKI bermasalah yang dilaporkan ke KBRI Kuala Lumpur rata-rata 3-4 kasus per hari. Itu belum termasuk laporan TKI meninggal karena pelbagai sebab yang mencapai dua orang per hari.

Untuk itu, KBRI dan perwakilan Polri, yakni Senior Liason Officer (SLO), berusaha memberikan pelbagai upaya bantuan bagi TKI bermasalah. Sebagian besar kasus yang terjadi, ujar Minton Simanjuntak, menimpa para TKI di sektor informal, seperti pembantu rumah tangga. "Mereka hanya berpendidikan SD dan SLTP, bahkan tak lulus SD."

Kini TKI bermasalah dan imigran gelap yang dideportasi turun dari 30.816 orang pada tahun 2008 menjadi 29.966 orang pada tahun 2009.

Belum lagi kasus yang terjadi di negara bagian lain yang bukan berada di wilayah kerja KBRI Kuala Lumpur.

Nota Diplomatik

KBRI Kuala Lumpur mengirim nota diplomatik kepada Kementerian Luar Negeri Kerajaan Malaysia terkait tewasnya tiga WNI yang ditembak PDRM di Kota Puteri (16/3) karena diduga menjadi perampok.

"Nota diplomatik juga ditembuskan ke Kementerian Dalam Negeri Kerajaan Malaysia dan PDRM," ujar Widyarka.

Nota disampaikan karena ada keterangan berbeda antara Pemerintah Malaysia (PDRM) dan informasi dari para TKI rekan kerja WNI yang tewas.

Menurut Widyarka, KBRI meminta Pemerintah Kerajaan Malaysia memberi jaminan keselamatan bagi para saksi TKI yang melapor ke polisi. Mereka memberikan keterangan yang berlawanan dengan informasi resmi PDRM di media massa. (ONG)

09 April 2010

Pangan Nonberas Wujudkan Ketahanan Pangan

Harian Equator, Jum'at, 09 April 2010

Oleh : Pa'du Palimbong

DAPAT dikatakan sekitar 90 persen masyarakat Indonesia mengonsumsi beras sebagai makanan pokok. Sedikit sekali yang menjadikan ubi kayu, ubi jalar, jagung dan sukun sebagai bahan pangan yang sesungguhnya.

Daerah yang menjadikan pangan nonberas sebagai makanan pokok adalah Papua. Pun demikian, fisik mereka bagus, sehat dan banyak pintar. Tidak kalah dengan daerah lain yang pangan utamanya beras. Demikian juga saudara-saudara kita dari sebagian Pulau Ambon juga sangat terkenal dengan sagu atau papeda. Coba lihat. Mereka sangat terkenal dalam segala bentuk kehidupan ini. Suara merdu ketika menyanyi. Di bidang olahraga, tidak disangsikan lagi. Bahkan di tingkat dunia, seperti Ellyas Pical dan lain-lain telah berhasil menorehkan prestasi di bidang olahraga.

Pada dasarnya kandungan karbohidrat protein, gizi dan mineral kimia bermanfaat lain dari ubi kayu, jagung, sukun dan ubi jalar tidak jauh berbeda dengan beras. Khususubi kayu, bukan hanya umbinyan yang dapat diolah menjadi makanan, akan tetapi dauna juga bisa dijadikan sayur.

Jagung, selain karbohidrat dapat juga memiliki banyak manfaat. Demikian juga sukun. Buah maupun daunnya dapat digunakan sebagai bahan makanan. Sebagai bahan pangan yang dapat menggantikan atau mengurangi ketergantungan masyarakat dari beras sebagai makanan pokok.

Masyarakat  sangat perlu mengetahui kandungan apa saja yang terdapat bahan pangan nonberas. Kandungan kimia beras berbeda-beda. Tergantung varietas dan cara pengolahannya.

Selain sebagai sumber energi dan protein, beras juga mengandung berbagai unsur mineral dan vitamin. Sebagian besar karbohidrat beras adalah pati sekitar 85 persen. Sebagian kecil mengandung prutosan, sellulosa dan gula.

Protein adalah komponen kedua terbesar beras setelah pati. Sekitar 80 persen protein beras merupakan fraksi yang tidak larut dalam air yang disebut protein glutelin.

Bagaimana dengan kandungan mineral ubi kayu sebagai pangan nonberas. Kandungan mineral ubi kayu/100 gram adalah 146 kalori, protein 1,2 grm, lemak 0,2 grm, hidrat arang 34,7 grm, kalsium 33 mg, fosfor 40 mg serta zat besi 0,7 mg. Selain umbi ubi kayu buah ubi kayu per 100 gram mengandung antara lain vitamin B1 0,06 mg, vit C 30 mg dan 75 persen bagian buah dapat dimakan. Daun ubi kayu juga mengandung banyak mineral (per 100 grm) seperti Vit-A 11.000  Si, Vit C 275 mg, Vit B1 0,12 mg, kalsium 165 mg, kalori 73 kal, Fosfor 54 mg, protein 6,8 mg, lemak 1,2 grm , hidrat arang 13 grm, sat besi 2 mg dan 87 persen bagian daun ubi kayu dapat dimakan.

Sedangkan buah sukun dapat  diolah dalam berbagai bentuk makanan dapat digunakan sebagai bahan pangan pendamping  beras karena pada dasarnya buah sukun memiliki kandungan mineral yang relatif sama dengan beras. Tidak kalah dengan jagung ubi kayu dan ubi jalar maupun kentang.

Kandungan gizi buah sukun cukup baik yaitu karbohidrat, protein, lemak, Vit B1, Vit B2, Vit C serta mineral kalsium, fosfor dan zat besi. Tepung sukun dengan kandungan pati sampai 75 persen, 21 persen gula, 5 persen protein dan 2 persen lemak. Demikian juga halnya dengan jagung. Dapat dikonsumsi  sebagai pendamping atau pengganti beras sebagai bahan pangan.

Kandungan jagung sangat banyak antara lain karbohidrat, kalsium, serat, asam folat, zat besi, fosfor, Vit.B12, kalium, protein, Vit A, Vit C dan yang sangat dibutuhkan saat ini adalah kandungan antioksidan, yaitu Likopen dan Vit C yang merupakan kandungan yang dapat merawat kulit dari dalam dan kesehatan rambut.

Bukan itu saja  rambut jagung yang berwarna kuning dan cokelat juga dapat mengatasi problem klasik manusia, yaitu gangguan buang air kecil, mengobati pembengkakan kandungan kemih, tekanan darah tinggi, serta mengurangi pendarahan pada waktu melahirkan yang disebabkan oleh kandungan Vit K. Dari uraian tersebut di atas dan dengan kandungan berbagai mineral dari ubi kayu, buah sukun, jagung jelas dapat digunakan sebagai pendamping, atau substitusi pangan beras, sehingga kita tidak perlu memiliki ketergantungan sangat besar akan beras sebagai bahan pangan pokok.

Mengonsumsi ubi kayu, buah sukun dan jagung nilainya relatif sama dengan beras. Jadi jangan khawatir mengonsumsi bahan pangan ini akan menyebabkan kesehatan dan kekuatan kita menurun. Menurut saya, yang perlu ditingkatkan di masyarakat adalah bagaimana mengolah bahan ini sehingga rasanya nikmat, menarik dan tidak membosankan. (Penulis adalah Kepala Dinas Pertanian Landak)

08 April 2010

From May, settling-in programme for new maids

Today Online, Mar 13, 2010

SINGAPORE - With 28 per cent of maid employers last year terminating
the contracts of their new help within three months, new measures will
take effect by mid-year to better match employers and maids, as well
as help new ones adjust better.

Last year, accreditation bodies received 154 complaints against
employment agencies for poor job matching or inaccurate biodata.

The level of biodata detail provided varied across agencies and not
always with all the information employers need, noted Mr Hawazi Daipi,
Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower.

The Ministry of Manpower will be working with the Association of
Employment Agencies (Singapore) and CaseTrust to create a standard
biodata template.

To be ready by June, it would, for example, require agencies to
"indicate if and how they attempted to verify" claims about the
foreign domestic worker's skills and experience.

Come May, employers can also send their new maids for a "Settling-In
Programme" that "includes lessons on Singapore's culture, norms,
financial management and stress management", said Mr Hawazi.

Courses will be held on weekends at some community centres. Employers
keen on signing their maids up can log on next month to the website of
the Foreign Domestic Worker Association for Skills Training (Fast), at
www.fast.org.sg.

During the four-month pilot run, the course fees will be absorbed by
Fast. Participants will be expected to complete all four half-day
modules, said the non-profit organisation.

Last year, the ministry received 1,280 complaints from employers,
foreign workers and members of the public about employment agency
malpractices - 80 per cent more than the year before.

To strengthen the management of foreign workers here, for a start, it
will be made an offence to knowingly engage an unlicensed employment
agency.

"We intend to break the collusions involving kickbacks between
employment agencies and errant employers," explained Minister of State
for Manpower Lee Yi Shyan.

The ministry is also increasing penalties for some offences.
Currently, the maximum penalty for operating an employment agency
without a licence is $5,000 - a sum that "pales in comparison to the
fees that some foreign workers pay to come to Singapore", said Mr Lee,
who revealed that more changes to the regulatory framework will be
made this year.

Why maids don’t measure up


By GOH CHIN LIAN

Why are so many employers in Singapore sending back their maids? It
could be that the maid is slow, the agent pushy or the employer
demanding.

WHEN a new maid fails to live up to her employer's expectations, it
may not just be her shortcomings.

The blame could fall on an agent so bent on pushing deals and earning
commissions that he overlooks his customer's needs.

Or the problem could stem from the employer. He may have high
expectations of the maid's ability to understand English and cook
well, while also caring for Junior and grandma.

Add to this mix a better-educated maid who knows her rights and will
not give in so easily to unreasonable demands.

The end result? Last year, 28% of employers terminated the contracts
with their maids within three months. It was 27% on average from 2005
to last year, the Manpower Ministry (MOM) told The Sunday Times. Only
one in five was a first-time employer, it added.

Earlier this month, it outlined measures to tackle the problem in a
country where roughly one in every five households has a maid.

The measures: Introduce a template for biodata of maids so employers
are better informed; and run a settling-in programme for new maids.

The 196,000 maids largely come from Indonesia and the Philippines,
attracted by a monthly pay of S$320 to S$420 (RM750 - RM1,000).

Employers pay a monthly levy of S$265 (RM600). They give up their new
maids for reasons such as they are forgetful, tardy or unhygienic,
said Association of Employment Agencies (Singapore) president Shirley
Ng.

Those who let go of an experienced maid complain that she has poor
attitude, is always on the phone and gets into boyfriend problems, she
added.

But Ng felt the problem can also lie with employers having high expectations.

Employers may also fail to recognise that it will take months for
their maids to adapt to a new environment.

What an employer considers as slowness may be the normal pace of
kampung life that the maid is used to. Forgetfulness may just be her
unfamiliarity with multi-tasking.

Take the case of an employer who accused the new maid of lying when
she did not prepare a vegetable dish, recalled the secretary of
non-profit group Foreign Domestic Worker Association for Skills
Training, William Chew.

She said there were no more vegetables in the fridge. The employer
showed her the bunch of kangkong (convolvulus) inside, only to be told
by the maid that it was for feeding pigs.

Other issues include young employers being unable – unlike their
parents – to speak basic Malay to their Indonesian maids, and
employers not giving instructions on how they want things to be done.

Maid agencies also felt that the MOM requirement that maids pass a
multiple-choice written English test here does not ensure that they
can understand English, and may have a negative effect.

MOM introduced the test in 2005 to raise the quality of first-time
maids, who must pass the test here before they can start work.

Maid agencies observed that most agents in the home country now spend
more time teaching English to the maids, instead of job skills.

The result? The language proficiency of the maid could be limited to
dealing with the sample 400 questions from MOM, and they could have
poor housekeeping skills.

On their part, industry folk said maid agencies could do better to
understand the needs and backgrounds of their customers.

Caring for a baby is different from, say, looking after an elderly
person. A maid who is a mother could be a good babysitter, but to
provide care for the elderly, she should have experience and
compassion, Ng said.

John Gee, president of Transient Workers Count Too, an advocacy group
for migrant workers, is in favour of the biodata template, which he
said will allow employers to make informed choices.

The MOM is working with maid agency accreditation bodies, like the
Association of Employment Agencies (Singapore) and Case- Trust, to
develop the template by June.

But agencies felt that it was one thing to have a template, and
another to ensure the biodata is accurate.

Agencies said maids tend to give model answers in order to secure a
job, and home-country agents are unable to verify their past work
experience.

One way around the problem is for agencies here to make trips overseas
to interview and suss out the candidates.

Nation Employment, which used to see 30% of its customers terminate
their contracts within three months, has cut the rate to 15% over more
than a decade.

It focused on improving the skills of its maids through in-house
training after they arrived here, said Nation's managing director Gary
Chin.

Ultimately, employers need to be understanding.

Housewife Goh Li Lian, 44, for example, said she was tempted last year
to change her new maid from Myanmar for being slow, but decided
against it.

"I understand that when the maids first start, we need to have tonnes
of patience to give both sides time to adjust to each other. So I
stuck it out," said Madam Goh, who has had four Indonesian maids, all
of whom finished two-year contracts. – The Sunday Times/ANN

07 April 2010

Help for new maids

The Straits Times, Mar 13, 2010

A NEW 'settling-in' programme will be launched in May to help new foreign maids ease into life in Singapore.

It will include courses on Singapore's culture and social norms, financial management and stress management.

Employers can enrol their foreign domestic workers for the courses, which will be held on weekends at selected community centres.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will engage the Foreign Domestic Worker Association for Skills Training (Fast) to run the pilot programme, said the ministry's Senior Parliamentary Secretary Hawazi Daipi.

He announced the new initiative in Parliament yesterday, in response to a question from Mr Seng Han Thong (Yio Chu Kang) on its plans to help new foreign maids transit better into working life here.

Mr Hawazi pointed out that these workers are already required to attend a safety awareness course, which trains them on working in Singapore homes and safe practices in high-rise residences.

Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.

KOR KIAN BENG


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I need to remind the public that it should be the duty of the agency to sent the maids to be trained before we hire them and not the other way around.
Posted by: sg_unemployed at Sun Mar 14 14:03:26 SGT 2010

False rape report: Maid jailed

False rape report: Maid jailed:

Apr 5, 2010

By Elena Chong

AN INDONESIAN maid who made a false report that she had been raped by her male employer was jailed for four months on Monday.

Jumiati, 24, admitted to giving false information at Bedok North Neighbourhood Police Centre on May 16 last year.

The court heard that she became intimate with her male employer less than a month after starting work in January last year.

Her male boss treated her well and promised to help her financially after she confided her family problems to him.

In mid-May, she was taken back by her agency after he failed to pay her salary promptly to the agency. Jumiati felt cheated and lodged the false report the following day that she had been raped.

She later admitted that she had given false information. She could have been jailed for up to one year and/or fined up to $5,000.

05 April 2010

Middle man system in the Health Delivery must stop!

The Star Onlne, Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Posted by: illawara

Ponder about it, folks (may our common sense prevail)

If you had hand injury, would you rather be under the care of a) the hand surgeon and the physical-occupational specialists or b) pay the rehabdoc to link you to the physical-occupational staff?

If your relatives are diagnosed with rheumatic disorder, would you rather pay to be under the a) rheumatologist and the physical and occupational specialists for rehab care and wellbeing or be ) pay to
be coordinated by the rehab doc to access these services - via the made-in-malaysia's 'Ali Baba' system?

If your relatives had stroke, would you rather be under the care of the a) neurologist and neurosurgeon and the physical and occupational and also the speech therapists for rehab care and overall care or b)
pay to be coordinated by the rehab doc to access these services - via the made-in-malaysia's 'Ali Baba' system?

If your parents are having dementia and old age, would you rather be under the gerontologist and the occupational specialist, for rehab and overall care  or b) pay to be coordinated by the rehab doc to access
these services - via the made-in-malaysia's 'Ali Baba' system?

If your friend is having psychotic conditions, would you advise to see a psychiatrist and the occupational specialists for total psychosocial care or under the rehab doc? OR...pay to be coordinated by the rehab
doc to access these services - via the made-in-malaysia's 'Ali Baba' system?

In today's era of health evidence, timeliness, cost effectiveness and many other factors, choosing option (a) is the right thing to do. Ever wonder why the other countries step-up the number of these useful specialists, and not some outdate, redundant, world-war two services??

Are they smarter or perhaps they are never expose or accustom to the ALI-BABA SYSTEM that is so prevalent in Malaysia. It is really made in Malaysia concept - One person sow, another person reap!

What the gov. need to do is have more of these useful specialities and upgrade ALL the therapy specialists.  In addition, the MOH needs to upgrade the nursing personnel as well for an equitable, affordable and cost effective total health care !! This will ensure at the least our aging parents and relatives have access to efficient health care, and not tax further by redundant middle man system.

New programme to deal with stress of housework

The Star Online, Sunday March 28, 2010

DON'T be surprised if the new maid rubs the area under her collarbone every morning or sits occasionally with two fingers on her forehead.

She may just be relieving stress using techniques taught by a new settling-in programme for maids.

From May, employers can send their maids for lessons covering topics like personal hygiene, money management and Singapore's culture and norms, said the non-profit Foreign Domestic Worker Association for Skills Training (Fast).

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said it had engaged Fast to run the programme on weekends at selected community centres.

The target is new maids and those who have been here for less than a year, said Fast secretary William Chew. It plans to promote the programme through employment agents and newsletters that MOM sends to employers of maids.

But will employers bite?

Chew said it has designed the programme to be conducted over four half-days, so it should not take up a lot of the maid's time. Emplo­yers will ultimately benefit from having their maids know the expectations of Singaporeans, he said.

"A happier, better adjusted maid is a better worker," he added.

A source of stress for maids is the need to multitask, from cooking and cleaning to caring for a baby, said the trainer for the stress management session, Khiryati Kairi.

"We've heard of maids always taking Panadol, or always having a headache or a tummy ache. These are signs of stress," said Kairi, the chief executive officer of I-Skills Learning.

Her Brain Gym techniques will involve body movements to keep maids positive, clear minded and energetic.

She will also cover work ethics, emphasising values such as honesty and responsibility. The personal hygiene session will teach maids to care for their hair, hands and body, said trainer AllenJoey Chng, a former nurse.

He will drive home the difficulty of keeping long hair given the housework they must do. They also need to trim their nails to avoid contaminating food, said Chng, the director of training at Grace Management & Consultancy who has trained maids for over six years.

Maids will learn to set their own goals as well and start saving, said Veronica Gamez, executive director of Aidha, a non-profit group that runs finance and entrepreneurship courses for maids.

It could be to buy a cow, invest in land back home or set up a new business like a bakery or a hairdressing salon, she said.

It also means teaching maids to talk to their family about controlling expenses to reach their goal, and to refrain from remitting all their earnings home.

Employers can sign up their maids from next month online at OnePA.gov.sg. Fast will absorb the course fees during the four-month pilot run. – GOH CHIN LIAN