Employers facing a shortage of maids in Singapore are interested in hiring maids from Cambodia, according to Singapore media and an embassy official.
Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower is now considering a request by the Association of Employment Agencies to allow the hiring of maids in Cambodia, according to a Channel News Asia report.
“The Ministry of Manpower is continuously reviewing our manpower requirements,” said Mitchell Lee, first secretary at the Singapore Embassy in Cambodia.
“That includes whether we should get maids from other sources beyond the countries we’ve had in the past such as the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka,” Lee said.
More stringent requirements on age and education have contributed to the current shortage of maids, who now have to be at least 23 years old and have eight years of formal education. They also need a work permit to be employed in Singapore, he added.
“The new rules were made to protect the maids as well as to ensure they have the proper training to meet the demands of the families,” Lee said.
Kek Galabru, found of local human rights group Licadho, said she is concerned about Cambodian maids who go abroad because they could face abuse unless they know their rights before they leave.
“Some are promised a certain salary, and when they arrive, their salaries are less,” she said.
Dollar Hits New Low
berlin – The US dollar slid to a new all-time low Tuesday against the euro, which rose to $1.3643 in thin post-Christmas trading. The dollar’s new low came in afternoon European trading, with the euro creeping just past its previous high—set Monday—of $1.3640. (AP)
The U.S. currency regained some ground in later trading, as the euro dipped back below US$1.36 after the release of figures that showed consumer confidence in the United States jumping in December.
The dollar has fallen steadily against the euro and other major currencies in recent weeks on worries over the large U.S. trade and budget deficits. With no short-term fix for those deficits in sight, many analysts expect the dollar to continue weakening and some have predicted a euro level of US$1.40 or higher by the end of 2005.
The U.S. currency has hit a series of new lows against the euro since Thursday in very light trading around the Christmas holiday. Low trading volumes can make exchange rates more volatile.
In Tokyo late Tuesday, the dollar bought 103.06 Japanese yen, down 0.68 yen from its level late Monday and below the 103.10 yen it bought in New York later that day. The dollar fetched 103.01 yen in European trading.
