MINIMUM AGE REQUIREMENT FOR FOREIGN DOMESTIC WORKERS

MINIMUM AGE REQUIREMENT FOR FOREIGN DOMESTIC WORKERS: 9.

Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Minister for Manpower (a) how the Ministry ensures that maid agencies comply with the minimum age requirement for the employment of foreign domestic workers; (b) whether the Ministry will consider reducing the minimum age requirement from 23 years to

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21 years to protect young foreign domestic workers and ensure better compliance with the minimum age requirement; and (c) what recourse and protection do employers have against maid agencies that flout this requirement.

The Minister of State for Manpower (Mr Lee Yi Shyan) (for the Minister for Manpower: ): Mr Speaker, Sir, on 1st January 2005, MOM raised the minimum age of foreign domestic workers (FDWs) from 18 to 23 years, as older FDWs are generally more responsible, and are better able to take care of themselves and adapt to the working environment in a foreign country. MOM's studies have shown that FDWs above the age of 23 are more likely to settle in well.

Since then, the number of unnatural deaths involving FDWs has fallen from an annual average of 30 for 2002 to 2005, to an annual average of 20 from 2006 to 2010. The annual number of reported abuse cases has also fallen by more than 20%, from 217 cases in 2001 to 167 in 2009. This is despite an increase in the FDW population by almost a third since 2005.

In order to hold an employment agency licence, employment agencies are required to ensure that the workers they bring in meet MOM's entry requirements. As the first point of contact for FDWs, and the intermediary between FDWs and employers, employment agencies are expected to exercise due diligence in verifying the age of FDWs. This includes checking the details in their official documents such as their passports, birth documents and educational certificates, as well as interviewing FDWs to ensure that the information they provide at the interviews is consistent with the information in their official documents.

MOM actively investigates and takes action against negligent employment agencies that fail to meet these

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requirements. Last year, 14 employment agencies were warned for bringing in under-aged FDWs, of which four were issued demerit points as well. Action taken against some of these agencies stemmed from information provided by the under-aged FDWs themselves, who were not prosecuted. The new employment agency regulatory framework that MOM hopes to implement on 1st April this year aims to further tighten regulations on errant employment agencies, and raise the professionalism and service standards of the employment agency industry.

In addition, staff at MOM's Work Pass Services Centre interview FDWs who appear especially young to verify their application details when they arrive for fingerprinting. FDWs found to be under-aged will not be allowed to work here. However, as the passport is an official document issued by the source country authorities, it is the primary document for identification and age verification. It is therefore important for these authorities in the source countries to ensure that the information contained in such documents is accurate.

Reducing the minimum age requirement will not address the problems faced by young FDWs. Lowering the minimum age requirement to 21 may even lead to the perverse outcome of making it easier for even younger girls to circumvent the minimum age requirement. MOM will continue to step up its surveillance and enforcement efforts. The authorities in the source countries also need to do their part to regulate their employment agencies and ensure the accuracy of information in their official documents. We will work with embassies to encourage accuracy in official documents and enforcement against errant employment agencies in source countries. Employers and other members of the public can also help by

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informing MOM if they suspect that an FDW in Singapore may be under-aged.

Mdm Halimah Yacob (Jurong): Two supplementary questions for the Minister of State. First, on reducing the age from 23 years to 21 years and the argument of the Minister of State that this will result in even younger FDWs being brought in. But as it is, we already have those as young as 16 years old being brought in. I do not see the correlation in reducing the age from 23 to 21 and therefore having even younger foreign domestic workers being brought in, but at least the supply of the foreign domestic workers can be increased if the age limit is brought down to 21 years, without compromising the safety and welfare of these domestic workers. My second point is, as the Minister of State has said, the official travel document is the source of information and how can we ensure that employment agencies will bring in maids who are not under-aged because that is the same argument that they are using in citing the fact that they be made responsible for under-aged domestic maids to be brought into Singapore.

Mr Lee Yi Shyan: Sir, I thank the Member for raising the two clarifications. I think it is common logic to say that if the requirement age is 23 years, to judge whether someone is under-aged against 23 years will be easier than to judge against 21 years, for the same under-aged worker that one intends to bring in. Already today, given that this is the requirement, many employment agencies and potential employers cannot really tell the difference in age if the under-aged person is not far from the requirement age. Therefore, we do not see how by reducing the age from 23 years to 21 years can help in detecting under-aged FDWs. Our past data also suggested that many FDWs who had a great deal of adjustment problems were FDWs of age 23 years and below. In fact, a number of them who fell to death from heights were

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around that age band. So cutting the requirement age at 23 years was a deliberate move in 2005, and I think we should stick to that.

The Member also raised a supply issue. We do not think supply is an issue at this point. I think quality of supply is what we should pay attention to. In fact, for FDWs who want to work in Singapore, we have introduced a number of measures, including requiring them to take a basic test to show their literacy and numeracy skills, and their ability to understand basic instructions on safety. Also, we require first-time FDWs to take a four-hour orientation programme to be aware of their rights and to understand safety precautions surrounding their work environment. So these are additional measures that we have introduced to help first-time FDWs adjust to the Singapore environment.

As to employment agencies saying they are relying on official documents as proof of age, we know that the source document is very important. We are working with foreign embassies to ensure that the source document can be verified. However, we also want our employment agencies to go beyond just relying on documentary proof, and to conduct investigative interviews upfront so that through interviews, we can find out if the workers have the right experience, if they indeed have finished school, if they indeed have worked for a number of years, and whether the evidence presented by them is contradictory. So we have to rely on a number of measures to make sure that the under-aged workers do not come in. Over the last few years, we have repatriated about 50 FDWs each year because they were underage.

Mdm Halimah Yacob: If I could just follow up on the point about reducing the age from 23 years to 21 years – I think the criteria should be the level of capability/ability to handle stress on the

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part of the domestic workers, and not really the number among them that have committed suicide. That is the reason why at the age of 21, and in Singapore, as you know, a lot of people are already assuming a lot of responsibilities at the age of 21. But the issue of supply, in my view, has a direct correlation to the domestic workers being brought in who are under-aged. Could the Minister of State still consider that possibility?

Mr Lee Yi Shyan: Sir, I agree with Mdm Halimah's point that the qualitative aspect and the maturity of the FDW to be brought in are our ultimate concerns. Given that many of these workers do not grow up in our kind of urban environment and are not necessarily exposed to the requirements of modernity, some of them really have problems just operating washing machines, microwaves, and so on, not to mention working in high-rise buildings and cleaning windows. This is a very different environment from where they came from.

So I think that age is one important criterion but it is not the only criterion. We have to look at a number of factors. We have no intention of changing the age limit to lower it to qualify FDWs, but it can be a factor for future consideration.