Although the government said it disagrees to Indonesian maids being hired under Malaysian labour laws, there should be at least be safeguards to ensure they are not abused.

This is because although there are good employers, maids are often vulnerable to abuse on account of the absence of laws covering their employment, said the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC).

Their working hours, weekly rest days, wages and even payment of wages are entirely at the whims of their employers, forcing some to work more than 15 hours a day throughout the year, said its secretary-general G Rajasekaran in a statement yesterday.

"While we recognise that there are good and even generous employers, many treat their maids badly," he added.

Other proposals

He was commenting on Home Affairs Minister Azmi Khalid's statement yesterday that allowing Indonesian maids to be hired under the country's labour law - with the same benefits contained therein - would complicate matters for employers.

Unlike their counterparts from the Philippines, Indonesian maids are not covered by any government-to-government agreement between their country and Malaysia and often suffer from lower working conditions.

The two countries are currently thrashing out details for a memorandum of understanding, which Azmi said may likely be signed in May.

The minister said they were looking at other proposals to improve the working conditions of these maids.