S’pore charges agency, employee over ‘maid for sale’ ads
SINGAPORE: Singapore has charged an employment agency for posting advertisements offering Indonesian helpers for sale on an e-commerce site, the citystate’s Labour Ministry said.
Conditions for Indonesian maids in tightly-regulated Singapore are regarded as better than in other places, such as Malaysia or parts of the Middle East, but the ads on online marketplace Carousell sparked a rare flare-up of tensions over the issue.
Posted under the user name “maid.recruitment”, the ads offered the services of helpers from Indonesia, while some indicated maids had already been “sold”.
The ads triggered anger in Indonesia, with NGO Migrant Care slamming them as “unjust and demeaning”, and were removed.
The ministry said on Thursday it had slapped 243 charges on SRC International Recruitment and the employee responsible for the posts, including 49 counts each for publishing “insensitive advertisements”. The job agency’s licence was suspended last month.
The ministry said it expects employment agencies “to exercise sensitivity when marketing their services”.
Manpower Minister Josephine Teo said she was “deeply disturbed” by the adverts, urging Singaporeans to treat maids with respect.