Come 2019, you may have to bid farewell to your Indonesian maid.
Recent consideration from the Indonesian government could lead to them no longer sending Indonesian women overseas to work as domestic helpers. This recent development was sparked after many maids have returned suffering from mental and physical strain caused by their time living with their foreign employers.
Indonesian maids make up the biggest portion of the domestic helper market in Singapore, and the withdrawal could see an increase in maid services as compared to their Filipino counterparts, Indonesians are more affordable as Filipinos are able to converse in English making communication easier. Most Singaporeans however are able to speak Malay and do not mind that they only speak Bahasa Indonesia.
To meet the demand of domestic help, the Manpower Ministry has looked towards Cambodia where they’ve managed to bring in 350 of the 400 they projected to recruit in a pilot project launched last year. Aside from the intent to stop Indonesian women from working as maids overseas, Hong Kong and Taiwan offers Indonesians a more attractive salary and many have opted to work there instead.
If we’re looking at a shortage in domestic help, could this be seen as another opportunity for young locals to procure an income?
[plinker]