In order to avoid hefty employment agency fees and employers delaying or failing to make payments, foreign domestic workers in Malaysia may soon be able to have their salaries paid directly into their bank accounts via e-wallet.
China Press reports that the country’s Ministries of Home Affairs and Human Resources have been in talks with relevant foreign missions, according to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The move has won employers’ support at large, thanks in part to conventional causing disputes due to the absence of payment vouchers or any other form of third-party monitoring, according to Foo Yong Hooi, vice-president of the Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies (PAPA).
Meanwhile, Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan, executive director of the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) said that while e-wallet mechanisms have many advantages, the method should not be made mandatory as the sole future payment means as conventional or cash methods do offer flexibility in terms of less paperwork for both employers and domestic workers.