We are happy to inform that we have moved to our new premises at the following address:
Blk 208, Hougang Street 21, #02-211. S(530208)
It is a short walk from our old office and is located conveniently above McDonald’s at Blk 208. Our contact numbers remain unchanged:
Tel: +65 6284 8639, Fax: +65 6284 7649, Email: [email protected]
With the bigger premises, we will be able to serve you better! Do drop by soon!
Good news for employers of foreign domestic workers who are paying the concessionary levy! The government has just announced that it will reduce the concessionary levy by half from $120 a month to just $60 a month! Not only that, it has relaxed one of the criteria – the requirement for a children below 12 is now raised to below 16. This will mean that more families will be able to enjoy the concessionary levy!
The new levy rate will apply starting in May 2015.
Read More:
Do you know that there is a grant to help lower the cost of hiring a foreign domestic worker (FDW) to care for loved ones with at least moderate disability?
We recently came across a client who brought to our attention the existence of such a grant. We have many clients who hire a FDW to care for their loved ones with disability. This grant should come in handy for them and we would like to spread the word on this.
The Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW) Grant is a monthly grant of $120 to support families who need to hire an FDW to care for their loved ones with at least moderate disability. Note that this is in addition to the Levy Concession for Persons With Disabilities Scheme. Once the grant is approved, what this means is that the employer will effectively be paying zero levy.
The grant is administered by the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC – www.aic.sg). To be eligible, the following conditions must be met:
1) Citizenship
Care recipient is a Singapore Citizen
OR
If care recipient is a Permanent Resident, he/she must be 65 years old and above, and FDW employer must be a Singapore Citizen
2) Relationship with care recipient
You must be a family member, and must live together with the care recipient at the same NRIC-registered address
3) Medical assessment
The care recipient must have at least moderate disabilities, as assessed by a Singapore-registered doctor. He/ she is likely to require permanent assistance in performing at least 3 activities of daily living.
4) Household income
Your household monthly income per person must be $2,600 and less. If your household has no income, the Annual Value of your property must be less than $13,000.
5) Caregivers’ training
Your FDW is required to attend the relevant caregivers’ training courses approved by AIC.
This grant will be helpful for many as Singapore’s population ages.
For more information on:
We are happy to announce that Hung Chau’s accreditation with the Indonesian Embassy has been renewed for another year. The accreditation is for the purpose of the recruitment of Indonesian domestic workers in Singapore.
Indonesian Embassy Accreditation – http://hungchau.sg/wp/accredited-maid-agency-with-indonesian-embassy/
Article from Asiaone: http://news.asiaone.com/print/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20130629-433378.html
Mon, Jul 01, 2013
The Straits Times
A recent hike in the cost of recruiting Indonesian and Filipino maids has sparked fresh demand for Myanmar helpers who are cheaper to hire.
Indonesian recruiters have been asking for an extra $700 to $1,000 as commission since earlier this month, said agents here. It bumps up the total fee to almost $4,000.
The reason given is that it is hard to entice the women to leave home with Ramadan coming up next month, as they usually prefer to be with their families during the festive season.
Several agencies here have refused to give in to these demands, slowing the supply of Indonesian maids by as much as 80 per cent in the last month.
To add to the maid crunch, Filipino helpers are more expensive too.
Employers used to pay about $2,500 to hire from the Philippines, most of which they could recoup by deducting from the maids’ wages.
The cost has not changed, but the Philippine government wants this debt bondage to end. Bosses are now not allowed to draw back from their helpers.
“I tell my customers, if they do not want to pay more, then they will have to consider Myanmar maids,” said Nation Employment managing director Gary Chin, who runs Singapore’s biggest maid agency. “We see a steady supply of workers there who are keen to come here.”
It costs employers less than $1,000 to hire a Myanmar maid. Such maids are also paid lower wages of about $400 a month, compared with $450 for Indonesians and $500 for Filipinas.
However, agents pointed out that Singapore employers are being charged lower fees for hiring Myanmar workers because the bulk of the recruitment cost is being passed on to the workers. Many Myanmar maids go unpaid for up to eight months while repaying placement fees of about $3,300.
Many of them become demoralised, leading to a higher rate of runaways, said agents.
About 50 runaway Myanmar maids have been sheltered by migrant worker’s group Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home) so far this year.
Home sheltered 64 runaway maids from Myanmar last year, 29 in 2011, and 13 in 2010.
Homekeeper agency managing director Carene Chin said: “Employers must be prepared to pay more so that the maids’ placement fees can be reduced.”
However, the chief executive of Home, Ms Bridget Tan, said that recruitment agents are also guilty of jacking up fees and that foreign workers end up with hefty debts.
One such foreign worker agency was recently punished, according to a statement by the Manpower Ministry (MOM) yesterday.
Gateway Employment Agency was convicted and fined $3,000 for collecting excessive agency fees from three China workers.
The firm has also been ordered to pay $6,600 as compensation to the workers, and its licence has been suspended by MOM.
