KUALA LUMPUR: Employers found to have ill-treated or taken advantage of their foreign domestic helpers will be blacklisted and prevented from hiring any others in future.

       Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan (pic) said the ministry would not compromise if any employer is found guilty of abuses, including not paying their maid's salary.

       "Although there have been isolated cases of employers ill-treating domestic helpers, these have tarnished the country’s image and good name like the case reported by a news portal of an Indonesian domestic helper who was not paid a salary after serving her employer for 12 years.

       "This has also affected the government’s effort to conclude the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on hiring domestic helpers from source countries such as Indonesia and Cambodia.

       "Issues like this have also resulted in the MoU with the Indonesian government to not be renewed since 2016,” he said in a statement Wednesday (Feb 23).

       Saravanan said although foreign domestic helpers were categorised as workers in the informal sector, they had rights as workers and their welfare should be protected.

       "In fact, the employment contract for foreign domestic workers also outlines the responsibilities of the employers who hire them,” he added.

       Up to Jan 31, the total number of foreign workers in the country stood at 1,157,481 with 86,084 of them being domestic helpers.

       The majority of domestic helpers (59,605) are from Indonesia, followed by the Philippines (22,803), Vietnam (1,031) and Cambodia (976), among other countries.

       Saravanan said his ministry and the Home Ministry would continue to work closely with the Manpower Department of Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak, as well as the Immigration Department, in tackling issues involving foreign domestic helpers. – Bernama