Trade in services through mode 4 -- movement of natural persons -- can be complicated. It's not just about convincing countries to open up to trade. Once they have opened up, there are issues related to the treatment of workers. Sometimes the government of the exporting country takes these issues on; sometimes it's the workers themselves. Here are some recent stories involving various issues related to the treatment of these workers:
Malaysia said Sunday it could not accept an Indonesian proposal on a minimum wage for its maids amid delays on a working conditions deal following a series of shocking abuse cases.
Both countries have been working on a deal for maids after a flood of complaints of mistreatment of domestic workers strained ties between Malaysia and Indonesia, leading Jakarta last June to ban maids from working there.
Human resources minister S. Subramaniam told AFP his country would not agree to an Indonesian minimum wage plan of 800 ringgit (254 dollars) a month for maids who are currently paid between 300 to 400 ringgit monthly.
“The proposal is unacceptable as Malaysia does not have a minimum wage structure and we feel that wages should be based on market forces,” he said.
“It is unfair to set a minimum wage for domestic workers from Indonesia if it is not done across the board for other industries also,” he added.
“If the maids have attended courses and have more skills, they can definitely demand a greater salary but we will not set a minimum salary.”
Subramaniam said talks were ongoing between the two governments despite delays in reaching an agreement that was supposed to have been inked last month.
After a series of delays, a key agreement between Indonesia and Malaysia on protecting migrant workers could be signed as early as this month, a top Indonesian official said.
Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said on Wednesday there was only one issue left to wrangle over before the deal was finalized.
“The only problem left now is the cost of sending Indonesian workers to Malaysia,” he said.
Ties between the countries have been strained after a string of alleged abuses against Indonesian domestic workers came to light, prompting Indonesia in June 2009 to impose a moratorium on sending more workers to Malaysia pending a new agreement on their protection.
Japan allows hundreds of Southeast Asian nurses to work on short-term contracts, but the health-care workers say the exams they must pass for the right to stay longer are so tough that almost all flunk them.
Nurses and care-givers from Indonesia and the Philippines are now asking their host country to relax the requirements that force them to quickly learn thousands of Japanese characters and medical terms on top of their work duties.
“It’s really a challenge for us to pass the exam, with only one chance, after working full-time for three years,” Indonesian nurse Wahyudin, 28, said in Japanese at a Tokyo press conference on Tuesday.
“I think the current exam is more a test of the Japanese language, rather than a test of the qualifications of the caregiver,” said Wahyudin, who said he was speaking for scores of fellow foreign nurses in Japan.
