Centre for Domestic Employees (CDE) championing the causes of labour in Singapore has asserted that it will push for electronic payments for all foreign domestic workers.
Yeo Guat Kwang, CDE Chairman, said, “With salary disputes forming a significant proportion of cases it saw last year, the CDE will demand for electronic payments for all foreign domestic workers here.” He was speaking at an event at Singapore Flyver to mark CDE’s first anniversary.
Association of Employment Agencies,(Singapore) has also supported demand for e-payments to domestic workers. Its president K Jayaprema, said, “Cashless payments help domestic workers, their employers and the authorities to track whether payments were made correctly and punctually.”
During the programme, a handbook was also launched for bridging the cultural divide in four bilingual combinations: English and Bahasa Indonesia, Burmese, Tagalog and Tamil.
The CDE was launched last January and saw 517 cases last year, which mostly came via its 24-hour helpline. The most frequent cases were salary disputes, transfer requests and physical abuse; they formed nearly half the total number of cases.
The CDE may also work with remittance services, banks and other financial institutions on a more structured way in which foreign domestic workers can repay loans to agencies in their home countries.
CDE executive director Shamsul Kamar added that it will launch a survey next month, which aims to cover 1,000 employers and 1,000 workers for a better understanding of issues faced by both parties.