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REGIONAL NEWS & SPECIAL REPORTS
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Written by Administrator
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Tuesday, 21 December 2010 06:12 |
AsiaViews, Edition: 01/III/Jan/2006
SHE arrives in Singapore, no money in her pocket, and has some days to spend before her housemaid training is completed and the work permit sorted out. Where does she live? Singaporeans have heard time and again of horror stories of foreign domestic workers being made to sleep in storerooms, balconies and kitchens, or even sharing rooms with the owners' grown-up sons.
In October, this newspaper reported about an agency which made its maids sleep in the backyard under a zinc roof, on straw mats, newspapers and thin mattresses.
Two weeks ago, a maid agency which also made its maids sleep in the kitchen and the backyard had its licence revoked. At the same time, the Ministry of Manpower announced amendments to the Employment Agency Act which would allow it to mete out harsher punishments with greater immediacy.
The maid employment agencies themselves have recognised their constraints in providing temporary accommodation for their maids. Mr Angland Seah, the president of the AEAS, or the Association of Employment Agencies (Singapore), said the 450-member association has been tinkering with the idea of building a centralised boarding house for up to 50 maids since last year.
In most instances, maids who are embroiled in disputes with their employers or who are involved with police cases are sent back to their agencies. Mediation and investigative processes by the authorities can last more than a year. A boarding house would remove the strain on agency members who would otherwise have to see to housing the maids.
"The fact is we will need huge funding for such a project," said Mr Seah, adding that while members could share the costs of building the infrastructure, determining how much each agency should pay could pose difficulties.
"If we split the cost equally among all agencies, it would be unfair on the smaller agencies," said Mr Seah.
On top of the cost of acquiring a building, operating costs would run up to $80,000 a month, which could be charged to the agencies based on the number of maids they put up at the boarding house, he said.
"It would be good if the Singapore Land Authority could allow us to use a building or an unused school or a community centre for a nominal fee," added Mr Seah.
Said Mrs Helen Tan, owner of Goodyear Employment Services and the former president of the AEAS: "There are many practical issues to be addressed, such as security, infrastructure and administration."
Mrs Tan pointed out that technically, as long as the maids' contracts have not been terminated, the responsibility of providing accommodation for the maids when disputes arise remains with their employers, not the agencies.
But most agencies take the maids in out of "goodwill" as these maids have nowhere else to go, she said.
Generally, most agency owners are very humane and treat their girls very well, said Mrs Tan, but "there are always a few black sheep who tarnish the employment agencies' image".
Mr Y S Ho, who runs Sincere Manpower Management, expressed reservations on the feasibility of a boarding house.
"Controlling the maids can be quite difficult. Who will take charge of them?" he asked. "We bring in all kinds of maids into our home ? and sometimes we don't know who they really are."
At least in his home, he can monitor the maids while guiding and training them, he said.
There are instances in which both the employers and the agencies cannot take the maids in ? for examples, in cases where the agencies are ill-treating them as well.
These maids could turn to the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home), which was founded last year by Mrs Bridget Lew.
According to Mrs Lew, around 50 foreign workers, consisting of construction workers and maids, live in its two welfare shelters at any one time. But the arrangement may not be viable in the long term as Home is facing financial difficulties in sustaining its operations, as reported in this newspaper earlier last month.
Ms Braema Marthi, president of Transient Workers Count Too, a civic group that looks into the welfare of foreign workers, urged a shortening of the mediation and investigation processes by the authorities.
The public must continue to report errant agencies which house their maids in unacceptable conditions.
Said Ms Marthi: "When we alert the authorities, we are telling the rest what we think of such appalling treatment."
By: Loh Chee Kong
Today January 11, 2006
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 21 December 2010 06:12 )
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REGIONAL NEWS & SPECIAL REPORTS
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Written by Administrator
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Tuesday, 21 December 2010 06:12 |
AsiaViews, Edition: 01/III/Jan/2006
The National Tourism Administration is expecting over a million visitors to Laos this year, generating huge revenues for the tourism sector.
?We are predicting tourist numbers in the region of 1.3 million, generating US$140 to US$150 million for the year,? said the administration's President, Mr Somphong Mongkhonvilay, last week.
Fol lowing several important events both in and outside the country in the last two years, the president that tourism had seen a definite upswing.
Mr Somphong said, ? Laos was represented at expos in Berlin , Germany , China and Asia , which gave us a lot more exposure to potential tourists.?
According to the president, the opening of international border crossings and the issue of visas upon arrival at 12 border locations served to facilitate tourist travel. In addition, new websites, an informatio n centre in Vientiane and the setting up of a tourism marketing and promotion board plus improved tourism services in general would all help to increase the number of visitors to Laos .
The sector has also been boosted through cooperation with ASEAN and its dialogue partners, the emerald triangle grouping (Laos, Thailand and Cambodia), the development triangle grouping (Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia) and the Lao economic development area incorporating China, Myanmar and Thailand, as well as with various international organisations, said Mr Somphong.
He said the administration was focussing on tourism infrastructure development. ?We are working on developing existing tourism sites and are surveying possible new attractions.?
?We are trying to develop road access to Konglor cave, in the karst mountain area of Khammuan province,? he added.
?We are also accelerating provincial surveys of potential tourist sites. Some provinces have listed their tourist attractions and submitted the information to us,? he said.
It is also hoped that the approval of a tourism law by the Nation Assembly last year will facilitate the expansion of the tourism sector and attract more investors in the field.
?The law allows foreign tourist operators a 70 percent stake in any tourism investment, with a Lao partner holding a 30 percent share,? commented Mr Somphong.
?Unless there is any unforeseen catastrophe in the world, I am confident that visitors to Laos will reach our predicted figure,? he said.
Mr Sompong said that about 1.2 million visitors came to Laos last year, generating around US$130 million.
In 2004, Laos received around 900,000 tourists, pumping about US$119 million into the tourism sector.
The number of foreign visitors to Laos has increased every year since 1990 and tourism has been one of the nation's leading income earners since 2002.
By: M. Vongsam-ang
Vientiane Times January 10, 2005
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 21 December 2010 06:12 )
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REGIONAL NEWS & SPECIAL REPORTS
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Written by Administrator
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Tuesday, 21 December 2010 06:12 |
AsiaViews, Edition: 01/III/Jan/2006
A meeting between Chinese and Japanese diplomats in Beijing on Monday made little headway in resolving bilateral issues, with discussion instead focusing on whether Japan should put a muzzle on the nation's news media.
"Why does the Japanese media only focus on the negative aspects of China?" asked Cui Tiankai, director-general of Asian affairs at the Chinese foreign ministry, according to Japanese officials present at the meeting.
"In order to produce good coverage, the government in China provides guidance to the media. The Japanese government should provide similar guidance," Cui said.
Kenichiro Sasae, Japan's representative at the talks, replied bluntly that Japan does not censor the press.
Cui had asked Sasae, director-general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, what Japan thought about China, especially in light of recent news reports quoting prominent politicians calling China a "threat" to Japan.
Sasae responded by recalling comments by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who said China's economic development was not a threat to Japan, but an opportunity.
Relations between the two countries have sunk so low that there has been no dialogue between the leaders or foreign ministers of the two nations in recent months. Monday's meeting was meant to address important bilateral issues, such as the development of oil and gas fields in the East China Sea.
Little progress was made on that issue or on a dispute over the 2004 suicide of a Japanese diplomat in Shanghai.
The two sides agreed to hold talks on gas field development either later this month or early in February.
A great deal of time during the four-hour meeting was devoted to discussing the criticism of China in the press and whether Japan regards its neighbor as a threat. Japanese officials said the talk showed how tense relations are.
"The current situation of bilateral relations is one in which we have to first resolve such issues," said one official who attended the meeting. "The Chinese officials were very sensitive to the emergence of voices in Japan calling Beijing a threat."
Last month, opposition Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) leader Seiji Maehara pointed to the growing Chinese military and called China a "realistic threat" during a speech in Washington.
Foreign Minister Taro Aso appeared to endorse Maehara's view later that month.
"(China) is becoming quite a threat," Aso said at a news conference. "I believe what Maehara said is accurate."
Chinese officials are apparently nervous about Aso calling Beijing a threat, not only because he is the foreign minister, but also because he is considered one of the candidates likely to replace Koizumi when his term as president of the Liberal Democratic Party ends in September.
Chinese officials have long given up hopes of improving relations with Japan as long as Koizumi is prime minister, given his repeated visits to war-related Yasukuni Shrine despite the criticism from Japan's Asian neighbors, observers say.
However, if China is seen as a threat by Koizumi's successor, the prospects of improved ties under a new Cabinet will only grow dimmer.
The current leading candidate to succeed Koizumi, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, has been careful about using the word threat in discussing China.
However, Abe was critical of Beijing's focus on the Yasukuni visits during a television program broadcast Monday night.
"It is wrong to cut off all exchange just because of one issue," Abe said.
China may also be concerned about the gulf between its relations with Japan and with the United States.
Although Washington has expressed concerns about China's military spending and human rights records, that did not prevent President George W. Bush from visiting China last year. Chinese President Hu Jintao is scheduled to visit the United States this year.
Said one Chinese government official: "While we have built up a mature relationship with the United States, it is regrettable that we cannot do the same with our neighbor, Japan."
By: Nobuyoshi Sakajiri and Kengo Sakajiri
The Asahi Shimbun January 10, 2006
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 21 December 2010 06:12 )
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REGIONAL NEWS & SPECIAL REPORTS
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Written by Administrator
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Tuesday, 21 December 2010 06:12 |
AsiaViews, Edition: 01/III/Jan/2006
THE Government will be pulling out all the stops to get low-wage workers started on a career path to higher productivity and better pay, said those who were consulted by the Low Wage Workers Committee.
The working philosophy of the committee led by Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen: Money is not an issue, as long as these workers want to help themselves.
"The issue is getting the commitment of low-wage workers to stay the course and upgrade," said an employer who did not want to be named. Some 240,000 workers here earn $1,000 or less a month.
Details of the recommended measures will be released by the multi-ministry committee tomorrow, but stakeholders say one can expect a comprehensive and holistic, yet flexible, scheme to be rolled out.
The six key thrusts are: Making work worthwhile; social support for work; skills upgrading; job recreation; support for children and sharing the fruits of economic growth. Last year's positive growth figures have prompted Dr Ng to suggest a special bonus for middle-aged, low-income workers ? an idea backed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Said MP and NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Madam Halimah Yacob (picture), who is on the committee: "Reinforcing the value of self-reliance and work ethics among Singaporeans is key. Whether it be outright bonuses or a housing grant, both are linked to individual effort and motivation and should equally achieve this purpose."
Singaporeans can even expect the package to be tailor-made to the needs of individuals, said Madam Halimah. "Different groups at different stages of their life cycle have different needs."
For example, low-wage single mothers may need more social support such as infant, child or student care so that they can go to work. Madam Halimah stressed: "Measures such as ensuring that the children receive a good education and do not drop out of school are equally important."
Since the committee was formed in June, employers involved in the consultative process have also requested for the Government to give more training grants and support longer work assistance schemes to keep workers in "unpopular" jobs.
"Some of the current work incentive schemes encourage workers to stay in the same job for three to six months. It needs to be longer than that and the monetary incentive should be more. Response to this feedback has been very positive," said the employer Today spoke to. Feedback given by some of the 700 participants at the Singapore National Employers Federation Employer-Delegates Conference in October included the need to widen the scope of job redesign, especially in sectors dominated by foreigners.
It was also suggested that the workfare bonus follow the National Wage Council recommendation consisting both of a percentage bonus based on salary and a fixed quantum sum. Regardless of the structure, MP Amy Khor said low-wage workers should be given more, since they have experienced the lowest income increase over the years as the economy grew.
"It could be given in two to three tranches over the next one, two or three years," said Dr Khor, the mayor of Southwest CDC and a Workforce Development Agency board member. "This could help to prevent some from exhausting their bonus at once."
To encourage saving, she also suggested that dividends be paid on the bonus not cashed out ? if disbursed into Central Provident Fund accounts ? or matching grants for bonuses transferred to their retirement or Medisave account.
By: Tor Ching Li
Today January 10, 2006
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 21 December 2010 06:12 )
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