Only 1% of applications to hire maids rejected a year for not meeting household income criteria
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As at December last year, there were 246,300 migrant domestic workers holding work permits in Singapore.
PHOTO: ST FILE
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SINGAPORE - Almost everyone who applied to hire migrant domestic workers was successful, with only about 1 per cent, or 2,000 applications, yearly rejected over the past five years due to households not meeting income requirements, Minister of State for Manpower Gan Siow Huang told Parliament on Tuesday (April 5).
She was responding to questions from Workers' Party MP Louis Chua (Sengkang GRC) about the minimum household income required to employ domestic helpers and the number of applications rejected over the past five years.
Ms Gan said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) assesses an applicant's eligibility to employ a domestic helper based on various factors, including the income of the prospective employer, the ability to provide proper and safe accommodation for the helper, and the caregiving needs of the household.
"Income is not the sole factor in determining whether the application can be approved," she noted.
Ms Gan added that MOM may consider other relevant information to determine an applicant's financial ability to hire a helper, such as retired senior citizens who have no regular income but have savings.
"In assessing renewal applications, we also consider the track records of the employers, such as whether they had previously defaulted on salary or levy payment.
"Hence, we do not have a rigid income criteria and do not reject applications solely on (household income) alone. We do have many factors for consideration," said Ms Gan.
As at December last year, there were 246,300 migrant domestic workers holding work permits in Singapore.
This story has been edited for clarity.
