ࡱ> IKHM B0bjbj== *LWWB,lL 4LB66666666.000000$  T66666T.66i...6266..6...  6* qL h  $0  v .X @Singapore: The Curse of the Recruitment Agents Radio Script: Producer and Presenter: Kalinga Seneviratne Duration: 1605 Cut 1 Bridget Most migrant workers are indebted upto 7-10 months of salary. So for 2 years contract most workers start earning only in second year of their contract, what happens to the families when period they dont have earnings, they start to borrow what ever reason if they are deported they go back home penniless not only penniless very much in debt. This exploitation is so rampant but authorities close their yes to this because agencies say it is their cost of doing business. Nar: Bridget Tan is the President of the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics or HOME, a non-governmental organization, which has been sheltering and assisting hundreds of domestic workers over the years, who have been abused by employers or cheated by recruitment agents. Singapore is a small island nation of 4.5 million people and almost a quarter of them are migrant workers. There are over 150,000 foreign domestic workers employed here with the bulk of them coming from the Philippines and Indonesia. Cut 2 Bridget On the whole migrant workers forms 1/3rd of workforce in Singapore and there is a priority on how we manage this workforce. Management not only in efficiency and productivity but there is a need at the welfare their rights. These men and women are without families and they need social services when they get into trouble. We find there aren't enough social services for them. That's what HOME exists to ensurewhatever the laws are how good they are that miscarraige of justice will not be there and men and women who have been ill treated will get some form of justice. Nar: Since it was founded in 2004, HOME has provided direct assistance to more than 50,000 migrants and victims of human trafficking and forced labour. A large number of those in need are women, specifically domestic workers, like this 23 year old woman, from the Philippines, who has just been taken away from an abusive employer by the police and brought to HOME for shelter. She has been working for 8 months and received only 50 Singapore dollars about 40 US dollars payments for this period. Cut 3 Filipina Maid What happened during 8 months? She slapped mom .. spit on you? Yes .. then pushing What did u do wrong? In first month I forgot my work she got angry and then she slapped you? Every time she get angry maam its very painful.. she lock me in house cant go, cant talk to other people. When I washing the car she comes down together cannot go out without my mum cant use phone mum So you cant call family? I can call not very long .. its short ..she is there saying Im using her money .. when I get voice of my husband she take the phone You tell family she beaten you? No maam then they get worried. Last night when I call police what happen? When police come Im scared because they have police. My mum said dont tell Im hurting you. When police know she hurting me she will get trouble my mum Police interview you? What did you tell? I cannot say she was at the back .. she allowed but she stand next to police , police said can you go in and sit down I talk to maid first the you later I told police what happened police said tell me truth I help you. I tell police all that happened to me .. there 3 police came (edit) I feel very safe Im here now. I told police I dont want to go agent because agent is friend of my employer. I tried to go to agent to help but did not help me maam. (edit) When in Philippine did you pay any money Yes my medical I pay there 1000 and then my passport and travel tax . About 10000 Then you come here you got 8 months deduction? Yes maam. When you work there no salary? They deducted only 50 dollars a month .. She gave me 20 dollars every month if she had problem with my work she cut 10 dollars 5 dollars if I forgot to close the light because she said I waste electricity .. then water she said when I wash the clothes you are wasting water? How much she deducted? 1, 2 dollars one time I send 50 dollar to family Cut 4 Bridget Just to explain what is going to happen to Filipina .. police picked up because she was complaining about harassment and under the penal code she is a persecution witness. Which means have to stay here for sometime this is where HOME comes in a safe place to stay and a palace they can regain their confidence and self-esteem. Most cases if they are abused by them they come to us quite intimidated and traumatised. We have to help them to recover from trauma we would also request from the police for them to find another employer because during time of the waiting they have no means of income and family back home will be concerned. Nar: After having charged the migrant worker a hefty placement fee, one would assume that when you are in trouble with the employer the agent would come to your aid. But, as the Filipina worker mentioned, she would not trust him to help out. Among most Filipina women who come here to work there seem to be a somewhat passive acceptance that they have to work for 7 to 8 months without pay to pay off the debts they owe to the recruitment agency for finding them a job here. These are the responses I got from them, at Lucky Plaza, a popular hangout for Filipina domestic workers on their day off on Sunday. Cut 5 Joy First time I came here I paid aroud 1600 dollars now second time I pay 2100 dollars it is 7 months deduction which is so high for us, it is really expensive to work here in Singapore. You know you are only required to pay 50 dollars 10 percent of one months sakary? Noe everybody knows that, we pay it in the Philippines. If we have to work in Singapore we have no choice but pay that much.. Thats advantage we get is we dont pay from our pocket but they deduct once we get here. Cut 6 - Aileen Six months to pay from that from the agent. 1800 dollars. I paid for the agent here in Singapore. I pay in Singapore. (edit) After 6 months no need to pay.. if I change employer I pay transfer fee 300 dollarif I go for good no need to pay if I want to come back I must pay another 6 or 8 months. Nar: Braema Mathi, a former member of parliament and now a human rights activist believes that due to lack of resources civil society groups are unable to effectively fight this injustice meted out to migrant workers by employment agencies, thus they are getting away with it. Cut 7 Braema This needs proper intervention. How much an agency does needs to survive? We can do market studies and we can say no more than this number of month.They should aqueal more on bad practices and stop this practice that Im the brother I own a company I open in sisters name company or in father in laws name, Im in trouble I transfer all the contacts to my sisters company and the business continues because this is a family business. If one makes a mistake they must suspend all . As NGOs we should educate our employers more. Many are disheartened and upset of the fact that they pay her but the money doesnt really go to her. But the next time when you employ someone please dont do via agent do by your own self. Nar: Mathi herself has been an employer of domestic workers in her own home, and she has not depended on employment agencies, because Singapores Ministry of Manpower MOM has now made it easier for employers to register their domestic workers without going through an agency. Cut 8 Braema Ive employed about 7 domestic workers. But the 3rd one, which was my 1st agency experience i was so shocked, she was from Sri lanka when i give her money the agent comes to the door step. I was very disturbed by it. Then when i asked her she said in Sri Lanka she paid her agent and when you come here she has to pay the Singapore agent. When i found out how much she paid the Sri Lanka agent i cant remember how much but it was quite a lot. So after that i never went back to agencies. Nar: In Singapore, under the law, an employment agency could only charge 10 percent of the first months salary from a migrant worker for finding him or her a job. But, as we have heard this law is broken with impunity. Bridget Tan believes that it is difficult for law enforcement officials to charge agents here because most of the transactions are done in the source country, and there are no paper work, which the worker has signed. Cut 9 Bridget Sending countries like Indonesia employment agencies they saddle the worker from the very point of go the worker has already 2000 Singapore dollar debt to pay and employment agencies here will buy this worker from the Indonesian agency at about 2000 dollars a hit when they come here they will top it up with another 600 dollars so 2600 for getting them an employer in Singapore. Most of these men and women are more than willing to pay this because they are enticed into thinking that working overseas you can earn very much more and they dont calculate this cost of placement. Nar: If one is able to overcome such drawbacks and keep the unscrupulous recruitment agencies at an arms length, the migrant experience could be a rewarding one and a win-win situation. Sol is a Filipino domestic worker who has worked in Singapore for 18 years with the same family. During this time she has been able to fund the education of 3 of her siblings and her own daughter all of them have graduated from university. Cut 10 Sol I have been here for almost 18 years. I came here because first reason I was angry with my husband.. my siblings 3 of them I sent them school I sent my brother and 2 sister in school he finished marine engineer other computer programmer working in Norway other one is nurse working in Manila my daughter is in hotel management working in Manila. I want to focus to help my family that is the big sacrifice. Nar: Rita is another Filipino domestic worker who has been employed by the same family for 23 years. She is unmarried, but, she has educated 2 children her late father has adopted after they were made orphans by the Mount Pinatubo volcanic eruption in 1991. Cut 11 Rita When I go back my father passed away I saw one boy and girl I asked who they are they never said they adopted they call another siblings elder one study and get married younger one is teacher .. Im the one who support them they study in Philippines I paid tuition fees until they graduate elder one married and set up a shop I send money to set up she now own small shop in Philippines I dont have children (edit) I met them once in awhile only I would like them to look after my mother because my siblings are overseas(edit) Because my employer treat me as one of family two kids are very close to me they are like my own one they don't want me to leave Im 60 years need to leave but they want me to stay here. Cut 12 Music Philippines Nar: This programme was a production of the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre AMIC in Singapore. And it was produced and presented to you by myself Kalinga Seneviratne. We would like to acknowledge the financial assistance of the Frederich Ebert Stiftung foundation of Germany towards this production. (END) 0>Ujrghn [ \ ' Glqg m !!!!!}#~##'''**..B0!B*CJOJPJQJmH phsH OJPJQJmH sH B*OJPJQJmH phsH 6H*65>*1/0>j{|ghnouv $ & 0` P@1$7$8$H$a$$a$B0 ' < = WXrs>?jk1$a$ & 0` P@1$7$8$H$12XY 34GHYZ & 0` P@1$7$8$H$ & 0` P@1$7$8$H$$a$<=IJ./?@klqrf g m   0` P@1$7$8$H$$a$ & 0` P@1$7$8$H$m n !!!!}#~###5%6%F%G%''''J(K(>)?)M)N)**  0` P@1$7$8$H$$a$***++++......8090?0@0A0B0$a$  0` P@1$7$8$H$(/ =!"#$%  i@@@ Normal CJOJPJQJ_HmH sH tH 0@0 Heading 1$@&56@6 Heading 2$$@&a$5@ Heading 3=$1$7$8$@&H$ & 0` P@'5B*CJOJPJQJmH phsH u6@6 Heading 4$$@&a$6<A@< Default Paragraph Font,B@, Body Text$a$jP@j Body Text 2=$ & 0` P@1$7$8$H$a$6.Q@. 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