As of September 1, foreign maids applying for a Singapore work permit will be able to open an account with the city-state’s POSB Bank as well, as part of an effort to reduce salary disputes.
Yeo Guat Kwang, chairman of the Center for Domestic Employees (CDE), said the bank accounts would keep a record of salary transfers so as to resolve disputes between domestic workers and their employers, The Straits Times reported.
“We want to be more active in solving salary disputes,” Yeo said.
Yeo said work-permit applicants opting to open a POSB account would not be subject to a minimum deposit requirement. The bank card they receive after they arrive in Singapore gives them access to a number of services, and a free SIM card will be provided.
Maids already working in Singapore can apply for the same services at the CDE’s offices at City Plaza, Peninsula Plaza and Union Square.
An Indonesian maid named Iswati, 32, who has been working in Singapore for six years, said the banking service was very convenient and she never faced any problems with her salary.
Last year, the CDE recovered S$52,543 (about US$39,000) from employers who had not paid their domestic workers or kept their salaries for “safekeeping.”