bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Filipino maid Maria Jimenez's salary will be doubling to M$1,430 (HK$3,052) a month on Friday - but she isn't cheered by the prospect.

'I am not excited. I might end up losing my job,' she said outside the Lourdes Church in the Kuala Lumpur suburb of Brickfields yesterday.

'I'd rather have my job on the current salary than no job at all.' Her three colleagues, who had just arrived for Sunday prayers, all agreed.

'Higher salaries are good but will the employer agree or look for cheaper Indonesian maids,' said J. Marites, 26. 'What will happen to us?'

Ms Marites and Mrs Jiminez are among 26,000 Filipino maids in Malaysia who stand to have their salaries increased when new rules imposed by Manila come into effect on Friday.

The increase will apply to all new contracts and all existing contracts upon renewal.

But the increase is no simple windfall. Many maids from the Philippines fear losing their jobs to cheaper Indonesian helpers, who  are paid   only  M$450.

The increase was announced last month by the Philippines Overseas Labour Office, a Philippine government agency to bring salaries in line with those of Filipino helpers in other Asian cities, including Hong Kong and Singapore.

The minimum wage for all foreign helpers in Hong Kong is HK$3,320.

The Philippine embassy's labour attache, Josephus B. Jiminez, wrote a letter last week to all maid agencies explaining the increase, according to The Star newspaper. He justified the increase by saying Filipino maids were better educated and trained and had completed an orientation course on 'work policies and their responsibilities'.

But the maids' employment agencies and employers  said the 100 per cent pay rise was unrealistic and too high.

'We will have to drop Filipino maids and hire Indonesians, although we prefer Filipinos,' said businessman Anthony Lim, 39, a Catholic who employs two Filipino maids to look after his invalid mother and three children.

'Paying Filipinos [the equivalent of] US$400 a month is ridiculous.'

A Malaysian government official said non-Muslim employers generally preferred Filipino maids over Indonesians and Sri Lankans.

About 230,000 Indonesians are employed as maids, earning  M$450 a month. Despite constant lobbying, the Indonesian government has failed to have the minimum wage raised to  M$700.

Unlike Filipino maids, Indonesian maids do not require an employment contract and are therefore more at the mercy of their employers. They work every day of the month, unlike Filipinos, who are required by contract to be given Sunday off.

An official from the Malaysian Labour Department said that except for western expatriates and 'high-end individuals', most employers were against the pay increase.

Maid agencies, the crucial link between employers and agents in home countries, have also rejected the increase.  'We are upset with the increase,' said Mona Lee, past president of the Association for Filipino Domestic Maids Agencies.

'They cannot arbitrarily fix a rate and expect every employer to follow it,' she told The Star.

Former maid agency owner Vincent Yap said the higher salaries might attract Filipinos to enter as tourists and work illegally.

'There is always a niche market for the excellent Filipino maids,' Mr Yap said.



Death toll from Hong Kong fire rises to 168 after more remains identified

The Hong Kong teen trading sleep and a social life to help artists around the world

‘I cannot sleep soundly’: helper battles trauma, job insecurity after Hong Kong fire

Helper who survived Hong Kong fire recovers in Philippines for Christmas

Foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong

Filipino  maids fear getting higher salaries