Singapore
Singapore
This comes as Indonesia does more checks to prevent human trafficking.
Foreign domestic workers seen on Sep 14, 2021. (File Photo: Gaya Chandramohan)
SINGAPORE: Families in Singapore hiring new Indonesian domestic workers may face delays as long as two months.
This comes as Indonesia tightens border controls amid fears of human trafficking. Such controls include more checks on its citizens travelling abroad for work.
“Starting from this June, we see a lot of news about inspection, about the border tightening … to make sure that we can prevent our citizens from becoming trafficked persons,” Indonesian Embassy labour official Tantri Darmastuti told CNA.
“The border is also being tightened to check more and check and recheck about the documentation when people want to go abroad.”
She added that maid agencies in Singapore that are hiring Indonesian migrant workers through the proper channels and with complete documentation will not be affected.
This involves verification by the Indonesian embassy to ensure that the potential employment is legitimate. Documentation will then be prepared and will need to be signed, she said.
“It’s really just as simple as that. So once you follow all this procedure and all documentation, actually nothing will affect you,” she said.
“The government set the regulation in order to assure that our citizens have the best or better protection through the procedures and proper documentation,” she added.
Employment agencies told CNA that the delay affects those that did not go through the Indonesian embassy to get official employment contracts for new workers. Some agencies are also not accredited by the embassy.
The agencies said these administrative steps are often lengthy.
The delays in bringing Indonesian domestic helpers started in late May, they added.
Ms Hilwah Brown, director of Hilwah Maid Agency said: “An agency like us who only specialise (in) Indonesian markets is greatly affected. The feeling of being unable to receive migrant domestic workers is similar to during the pandemic period.”
Co-founder of Ministry of Helpers Otbert de Jong said that the delay has been partly caused by immigration officers reportedly asking for a training certificate from PJTKI – Indonesian migrant work placement companies.
These companies may be pushing for wider use of their certificate to deal with more maid agencies doing direct hires instead of going through them, he said.
However, the certificate does not address problems like human trafficking, he added.
Currently, many agencies go directly to agents in Jakarta to bring helpers into Singapore with an in-principal employment approval from Singapore’s Manpower Ministry, industry experts told CNA.
Agencies have to see the situation from the Indonesian perspective, said Ms K Jayaprema, president of the Association of Employment Agencies Singapore.
“What they are looking at is for domestic workers to have been properly correctly processed from the source country to be departing for employment to Singapore,” she said. Ms Jayaprema said her association has encouraged members to be accredited with the Indonesian Embassy and to go through the due processes.
“It does have some value where you have a counterpart at source (country) to do the documentation processes, and training, back-end verification of the passports, documents – I think all these have some value,” she said.
She added that the association provides support to employment agencies by getting the embassy to facilitate the accreditation process.
“Sometimes, there is some delay in the process and it takes a little bit longer time, and we do have discussions with the embassy officials here to ask them for help to expedite,” she said.
Despite delays, a huge shortage of Indonesian migrant domestic workers is unlikely, she said.
“There might be some shortfall at this point of time, but I doubt it is something that is going to create a massive shortage … There are other sources that we do recruit from. Employers do have options that they might shift to other source countries to recruit,” she said.
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