Placement quotas for employment agencies of foreign domestic workers
Parliamentary Question, 3 Feb 2020
Ms Anthea Ong asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry sets quotas for employment agencies of foreign domestic workers to meet in terms of the number of domestic workers placed; (b) if so, whether this quota is applicable to all employment agencies or only those under Advance Placement Scheme; © what is the purpose of this quota; (d) how is the quota determined; and (e) what are the consequences of failure to meet the quota.
Mrs Josephine Teo: The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) does not set a quota on the number of foreign domestic workers (FDWs) to be placed by employment agencies (EAs). EAs which apply for and are approved by MOM to participate in the Advance Placement Scheme (APS) are however, encouraged to commit to bringing in 20 or more FDWs each month. This is to ensure a meaningful pool of FDWs whom employers with urgent caregiving needs can select from.
The Ministry regularly monitors the placement volume of APS EAs. To date, no EA has been penalised for not keeping to its commitment. An EA, which makes the effort but is not able to bring in a steady and regular pool of APS FDWs, may still stay in the scheme. Only EAs that consistently fail to place any APS FDWs are dropped from the scheme.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Anthea Ong is a Nominated Member of Parliament. (A Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) is a Member of the Parliament of Singapore who is appointed by the President. They are not affiliated to any political party and do not represent any constituency. There are currently nine NMPs in Parliament.)
The multi-sector perspective that comes from her ground immersion of 12 years in different capacities helps her translate single-sector issues and ideas across boundaries without alienating any particular community/group. As an entrepreneur and with many years in business leadership, it is innate in her to discuss social issues with the intent of finding solutions, or at least of exploring possibilities. She champions mental health, diversity and inclusion — and climate change in Parliament.
She is also an impact entrepreneur/investor and a passionate mental health advocate, especially in workplace wellbeing. She started WorkWell Leaders Workgroup in May 2018 to bring together top leaders (CXOs, Heads of HR/CSR/D&I) of top employers in Singapore (both public and private) to share, discuss and co-create inclusive practices to promote workplace wellbeing. Anthea is also the founder of Hush TeaBar, Singapore’s 1st silent teabar and a social movement that aims to bring silence, self care and social inclusion into every workplace, every community — with a cup of tea. The Hush Experience is completely led by lovingly-trained Deaf facilitators, supported by a team of Persons with Mental Health Issues (PMHIs).
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