New licensing rules for maid agencies to include grading
Employment agencies placing foreign domestic workers will have to undergo mandatory grading from the second half of next year. TODAY file photo
SINGAPORE — Those looking to hire foreign domestic workers in Singapore will soon be able to check the professional standards of the agencies deploying them, when the Government and a consumer watchdog roll out a compulsory scheme to grade these firms by the second half of 2017.
The 900-odd agencies in this sector will be graded under a new Trustmark scheme before they can renew their licences, the Manpower Ministry (MOM) said in a media release on Wednesday (March 9).
The grade they receive must be displayed prominently at their premises to help clients make an informed decision. It will also be reflected on the websites of the ministry and the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE).
Speaking at an employment agencies seminar on Wednesday, Minister of State (Manpower) Sam Tan said: “At MOM, we often receive feedback about how distressing it is for both employers and foreign domestic workers when the matching of expectations is not done well and causes the employment relationship to break down ... The important role that employment agencies play ... (to) find a good match from the outset cannot be over-emphasised.”
The assessment criteria for the grading has not been finalised, and a trial will be done in the later part of this year. Possible considerations include the proportion of foreign domestic workers who complete their contracts, and the use of established processes in placing a match.
Another likely criteria will be the agency’s score under a new five-point Employment Agency Customer Rating system. To be launched in mid-2016, this will allow employers to rate an agency three to four months after they hire a foreign domestic worker.
Rating is voluntary and the aggregated scores will be made public on the ministry’s Employment Agencies and Personnel Search e-service page.
The ministry said that agencies would not lose their licences if they received a poor grade under the Trustmark scheme — they would still be subjected to the Government’s licensing framework.
CASE executive director Seah Seng Choon pointed out that there is already a voluntary accreditation scheme being run, but success has been limited, with just 21 agencies on board. The shake-up to the industry is meant to provide greater transparency in service standards, he added.
While established employment agencies are in favour of the changes to boost standards, Ms Carene Chin, managing director of Homekeeper maid agency, is concerned that the rating system may be abused by vindictive employers, especially when they are upset over disputes.
Mr Desmond Chin, chairman of Nation Employment agency, suggested that the assessment criteria could include the training and welfare given to the foreign domestic workers.
When asked if the foreign domestic workers would be allowed to rate their employers, the Manpower Ministry said this was not in the plans, but the wellbeing and assurance of services to the workers would not be neglected when developing the scheme.
“For example, if an employment agency treats a worker badly, it may affect the employment agency’s chances of getting a good grade,” its spokesperson said.
However, Mr Jolovan Wham, executive director of the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics, said that if domestic workers do not have “equal participation”, then it would not be an effective evaluating tool. “Domestic workers are not invisible and should not be treated as such. We hope that the MOM will consider allowing them equal participation in this scheme,” he said.
