BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific |
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Thursday, November 01, 2007
It isn't easy for maids' bosses to seek redress
Consumer rights in Singapore are still hampered by weak enforcement measures. This scenario painted by the forum letter writer also highlights the tension between the rights of the consumer and the rights of the foreign domestic worker.
-------------------------------------
Straits Times Forum
Nov 1, 2007
It isn't easy for maids' bosses to seek redress
I REFER to the letter from the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case), 'Misleading data on maids: Bosses can seek redress' (ST, Oct 22).
Employment agencies are expected to provide true and accurate data to employers but most do not do so; neither do they care if an unsuitable maid is passed off to a family as they earn fees each time a maid is transferred.
CaseTrusted agencies may look good on paper but the accreditation does not count for much. When I approached Case over a dishonest maid agency, it explained that all it could do was send letters to the agency requesting it to 'do the right thing'.
The agency could ignore the letters and that would be the end of the matter. Case does not have any binding legal powers.
You may then consider taking your case to the Small Claims Tribunal. However, it also does not have any power to enforce a legal judgment.
I have been there too. The maid agency I had a dispute with sent a junior employee to the compulsory arbitration session who was unable to come up with a solution despite two mediators requesting the agency to find an amicable solution.
Meanwhile, the agency boss sat in his office in some dinghy shopping centre waiting for his employee to call so he could say 'no' continually as he preferred to have the matter taken to civil court. For the sum of about $3,000 (agency fee of up to $800 and outstanding maid loan paid by the employer of up to $2,000), it is not worth the employer hiring a lawyer and taking time off work to take the matter to court.
The time has come to regulate, through legislation, the conduct of maid agencies as breach of duty of care and non-disclosure are not one-off incidents.
A clean-up of the industry would also curtail problems of maid abuse, as it would ensure that employers get maids with the experience stated in their biodata, rather than, say, underaged and inexperienced maids with false passports.
It would also help if the 'maid loan' could be done away with as it is not fair for the employer to have to assume this responsibility. Let this issue be between the maid and her lender.
If the maid turns out to be unsuitable, the employer who has paid her loan upfront has no choice but to transfer her, or else forfeit the loan if he sends her home. This is why a lot of dishonest maids are recycled, to the advantage of agencies, which continue to collect transfer fees.
Tjio Swat Lianne (Mdm)
-------------------------------------
Straits Times Forum
Nov 1, 2007
It isn't easy for maids' bosses to seek redress
I REFER to the letter from the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case), 'Misleading data on maids: Bosses can seek redress' (ST, Oct 22).
Employment agencies are expected to provide true and accurate data to employers but most do not do so; neither do they care if an unsuitable maid is passed off to a family as they earn fees each time a maid is transferred.
CaseTrusted agencies may look good on paper but the accreditation does not count for much. When I approached Case over a dishonest maid agency, it explained that all it could do was send letters to the agency requesting it to 'do the right thing'.
The agency could ignore the letters and that would be the end of the matter. Case does not have any binding legal powers.
You may then consider taking your case to the Small Claims Tribunal. However, it also does not have any power to enforce a legal judgment.
I have been there too. The maid agency I had a dispute with sent a junior employee to the compulsory arbitration session who was unable to come up with a solution despite two mediators requesting the agency to find an amicable solution.
Meanwhile, the agency boss sat in his office in some dinghy shopping centre waiting for his employee to call so he could say 'no' continually as he preferred to have the matter taken to civil court. For the sum of about $3,000 (agency fee of up to $800 and outstanding maid loan paid by the employer of up to $2,000), it is not worth the employer hiring a lawyer and taking time off work to take the matter to court.
The time has come to regulate, through legislation, the conduct of maid agencies as breach of duty of care and non-disclosure are not one-off incidents.
A clean-up of the industry would also curtail problems of maid abuse, as it would ensure that employers get maids with the experience stated in their biodata, rather than, say, underaged and inexperienced maids with false passports.
It would also help if the 'maid loan' could be done away with as it is not fair for the employer to have to assume this responsibility. Let this issue be between the maid and her lender.
If the maid turns out to be unsuitable, the employer who has paid her loan upfront has no choice but to transfer her, or else forfeit the loan if he sends her home. This is why a lot of dishonest maids are recycled, to the advantage of agencies, which continue to collect transfer fees.
Tjio Swat Lianne (Mdm)
Young women earn just 2% less than men do
Straits Times
3rd October 2007
Young women earn just 2% less than men do
Women here have made big strides in gender equality, says Yu-Foo Yee Shoon
By Radha Basu
Community Correspondent
radhab@sph.com.sg
WOMEN in their 20s now earn 98 per cent of what their male counterparts do.
More women graduate from university, compared to men here, and women now own or co-own 87 per cent of Housing Board flats.
Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports Yu-Foo Yee Shoon revealed these figures yesterday to illustrate how women in Singapore have made big strides in gender equality.
She was responding to a United Nations view that Singapore should define gender discrimination in its Constitution and review laws that could be seen as discriminatory to women.
At a meeting in New York earlier this year, a UN committee discussed the extent to which countries have met their obligations under an international treaty called the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women – better known as “Cedaw” in short.
Mrs Yu-Foo presented Singapore’s report at the meeting as the Republic had acceded to the treaty in October 1995.
The UN committee applauded several moves by Singapore to end gender inequality, including its decision to confer citizenship to children born overseas to Singaporean women. Previously, only children born overseas to Singaporean men could gain citizenship.
But, it also expressed “deep concern” that Singapore still maintains “reservations” to – meaning it refuses to fully accept – certain articles of the Cedaw treaty that call for removing all discriminatory laws and customs, including those related to marriage.
Specifically, a bone of contention is Singapore’s allowing Muslims to defer to Syariah law, which the UN committee deems discriminatory towards women.
Mrs Yu-Foo said Singapore could not withdraw these reservations, as it had to “respect the rights of its indigenous people” – namely the Malays – “to practise their personal and religious laws”.
However, she did say Syariah laws are not “cast in stone”, and whether or not these laws should be updated is up to the MalayMuslim community to decide.
Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) spokesman Nazirudin Mohd Nasir was also present at yesterday’s press conference. He said the Muslim community here regularly studies how other countries interpret and apply Muslim laws to check if updates are necessary here.
Mrs Yu-Foo said yesterday that rather than put in place hard-toenforce laws, Singapore is keen to make sure its women are treated fairly by giving them good opportunities on the ground.
Key among her current priorities is to ensure that more older women re-enter the workforce. Only 43 per cent of women aged 55 to 59 are employed.
Also, she wants to encourage more employers to adopt “flexible” work initiatives to attract and retain those who want to balance career and family demands.
The Cedaw committee’s recommendations will be duly studied, said Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports deputy secretary Chew Hock Yong, who also chairs an inter-ministerial body on Cedaw here.
“We take the committee’s comments seriously,” he said. “We need to look at each comment and ask ourselves – how can we do better?”
Singapore is due to give its next report to the UN Cedaw committee in November next year.
3rd October 2007
Young women earn just 2% less than men do
Women here have made big strides in gender equality, says Yu-Foo Yee Shoon
By Radha Basu
Community Correspondent
radhab@sph.com.sg
WOMEN in their 20s now earn 98 per cent of what their male counterparts do.
More women graduate from university, compared to men here, and women now own or co-own 87 per cent of Housing Board flats.
Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports Yu-Foo Yee Shoon revealed these figures yesterday to illustrate how women in Singapore have made big strides in gender equality.
She was responding to a United Nations view that Singapore should define gender discrimination in its Constitution and review laws that could be seen as discriminatory to women.
At a meeting in New York earlier this year, a UN committee discussed the extent to which countries have met their obligations under an international treaty called the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women – better known as “Cedaw” in short.
Mrs Yu-Foo presented Singapore’s report at the meeting as the Republic had acceded to the treaty in October 1995.
The UN committee applauded several moves by Singapore to end gender inequality, including its decision to confer citizenship to children born overseas to Singaporean women. Previously, only children born overseas to Singaporean men could gain citizenship.
But, it also expressed “deep concern” that Singapore still maintains “reservations” to – meaning it refuses to fully accept – certain articles of the Cedaw treaty that call for removing all discriminatory laws and customs, including those related to marriage.
Specifically, a bone of contention is Singapore’s allowing Muslims to defer to Syariah law, which the UN committee deems discriminatory towards women.
Mrs Yu-Foo said Singapore could not withdraw these reservations, as it had to “respect the rights of its indigenous people” – namely the Malays – “to practise their personal and religious laws”.
However, she did say Syariah laws are not “cast in stone”, and whether or not these laws should be updated is up to the MalayMuslim community to decide.
Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) spokesman Nazirudin Mohd Nasir was also present at yesterday’s press conference. He said the Muslim community here regularly studies how other countries interpret and apply Muslim laws to check if updates are necessary here.
Mrs Yu-Foo said yesterday that rather than put in place hard-toenforce laws, Singapore is keen to make sure its women are treated fairly by giving them good opportunities on the ground.
Key among her current priorities is to ensure that more older women re-enter the workforce. Only 43 per cent of women aged 55 to 59 are employed.
Also, she wants to encourage more employers to adopt “flexible” work initiatives to attract and retain those who want to balance career and family demands.
The Cedaw committee’s recommendations will be duly studied, said Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports deputy secretary Chew Hock Yong, who also chairs an inter-ministerial body on Cedaw here.
“We take the committee’s comments seriously,” he said. “We need to look at each comment and ask ourselves – how can we do better?”
Singapore is due to give its next report to the UN Cedaw committee in November next year.
Working group on human rights planned
3rd October 2007
Straits Times
Working group on human rights planned
“We have to work to build up confidence. When you talk about human rights, some people always say, ‘Oh, don’t go there.’ But there are already groups in Singapore that are working for children’s rights, women’s rights, migrant workers’ rights etc.”
By Yeo Ghim Lay
AN INTERIM committee to establish a Singapore working group on human rights has been set up, with former Nominated MP Braema Mathi at its helm.
The Singapore working group, when up and running, will be part of the Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism, a coalition of national groups from ASEAN countries which has its secretariat in Manila.
Ms Mathi was chosen by representatives from civil society organisations to lead the interim committee at a meeting here last month.
The move follows a decision by ASEAN ministers in July to include a provision in the ASEAN charter for a human rights body – the form and workings of which have yet to be finalised.
Civil society organisations from member countries – many operating via their respective working groups – aim to provide input and help shape the kind of human rights body ASEAN finally sets up.
Ms Mathi said yesterday there was now an opportunity to discuss human rights issues in a bigger way in Singapore, given the ASEAN foreign ministers’ decision on a human rights body.
The charter, a mini constitution for ASEAN , is expected to be unveiled at next month’s ASEAN leaders’ summit in Singapore.
Said Ms Mathi: “It is good for Singapore, as one of the founding ASEAN members, to be involved in the process. We want to see what we can do locally to help the process of this mechanism.”
Besides Ms Mathi, Nominated MP Siew Kum Hong and Mr Leong Sze Hian, president of the Society of Financial Service Professionals (Singapore), are on the committee.
Ms Mathi declined to reveal the identities of other members, saying the committee is still in the early stages of its work, and is in the process of recruiting more people.
Called the Singapore Working Committee for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism, its activities will include dialogues and forums to educate and raise awareness about human rights, international conventions, ASEAN's charter and proposed human rights body, among other issues.
“We have to work to build up confidence. When you talk about human rights, some people always say, ‘Oh, don’t go there.’ But there are already groups in Singapore that are working for children’s rights, women’s rights, migrant workers’ rights etc,” said Ms Mathi.
Her committee will also work and hold discussions with civil society groups.
Among those she has spoken to is Think Centre president Sinapan Samydorai.
From 2003, he was the point man in Singapore for the Manila-based ASEAN group and headed the “interim Singapore Working Group”, which has held forums to promote awareness on human rights issues and the need for an ASEAN human rights mechanism.
But a meeting last month between representatives from civil society groups here and the Manila-based ASEAN group opted for Ms Mathi to coordinate the efforts and the work of an interim committee.
Mr Samydorai, who said he met Ms Mathi before her committee was formed, told The Straits Times his working group will listen to and welcome recommendations from Ms Mathi’s group and others.
On their part, both Ms Mathi and Mr Siew say they will remain open to engaging all relevant groups. They also stressed that the approach taken by the interim committee must be non-partisan.
Besides Mr Samydorai, lawyer and activist M. Ravi is understood to have his own group.
Straits Times
Working group on human rights planned
“We have to work to build up confidence. When you talk about human rights, some people always say, ‘Oh, don’t go there.’ But there are already groups in Singapore that are working for children’s rights, women’s rights, migrant workers’ rights etc.”
By Yeo Ghim Lay
AN INTERIM committee to establish a Singapore working group on human rights has been set up, with former Nominated MP Braema Mathi at its helm.
The Singapore working group, when up and running, will be part of the Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism, a coalition of national groups from ASEAN countries which has its secretariat in Manila.
Ms Mathi was chosen by representatives from civil society organisations to lead the interim committee at a meeting here last month.
The move follows a decision by ASEAN ministers in July to include a provision in the ASEAN charter for a human rights body – the form and workings of which have yet to be finalised.
Civil society organisations from member countries – many operating via their respective working groups – aim to provide input and help shape the kind of human rights body ASEAN finally sets up.
Ms Mathi said yesterday there was now an opportunity to discuss human rights issues in a bigger way in Singapore, given the ASEAN foreign ministers’ decision on a human rights body.
The charter, a mini constitution for ASEAN , is expected to be unveiled at next month’s ASEAN leaders’ summit in Singapore.
Said Ms Mathi: “It is good for Singapore, as one of the founding ASEAN members, to be involved in the process. We want to see what we can do locally to help the process of this mechanism.”
Besides Ms Mathi, Nominated MP Siew Kum Hong and Mr Leong Sze Hian, president of the Society of Financial Service Professionals (Singapore), are on the committee.
Ms Mathi declined to reveal the identities of other members, saying the committee is still in the early stages of its work, and is in the process of recruiting more people.
Called the Singapore Working Committee for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism, its activities will include dialogues and forums to educate and raise awareness about human rights, international conventions, ASEAN's charter and proposed human rights body, among other issues.
“We have to work to build up confidence. When you talk about human rights, some people always say, ‘Oh, don’t go there.’ But there are already groups in Singapore that are working for children’s rights, women’s rights, migrant workers’ rights etc,” said Ms Mathi.
Her committee will also work and hold discussions with civil society groups.
Among those she has spoken to is Think Centre president Sinapan Samydorai.
From 2003, he was the point man in Singapore for the Manila-based ASEAN group and headed the “interim Singapore Working Group”, which has held forums to promote awareness on human rights issues and the need for an ASEAN human rights mechanism.
But a meeting last month between representatives from civil society groups here and the Manila-based ASEAN group opted for Ms Mathi to coordinate the efforts and the work of an interim committee.
Mr Samydorai, who said he met Ms Mathi before her committee was formed, told The Straits Times his working group will listen to and welcome recommendations from Ms Mathi’s group and others.
On their part, both Ms Mathi and Mr Siew say they will remain open to engaging all relevant groups. They also stressed that the approach taken by the interim committee must be non-partisan.
Besides Mr Samydorai, lawyer and activist M. Ravi is understood to have his own group.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)