RM700 - Get your own accomodations

I wrote about my opinion on the illogical One maid, one task decision in my previous entry. I'll add to that post my further take on the minimum RM700 maid salary.

Image credit.

By setting yourself a minimum salary of RM700 per month, doing only the task you are trained for, you are in your own right a professional. You are governed by a structured work ethics, a guaranteed fixed salary structure including compensation for working outside of your stipulated working hours. This is exactly what the the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration set out in its training to prepare aspiring maids to work in Malaysia.

Common sense would have it that for the above to have taken place, the worker (in particular, the maid) is a competent, self-sufficient employee just like anyone working for someone else. As such, the maid is expected to:

1. Provide for his/her own accommodation, probably by renting a house or room nearby. Or, rent a room in the employer's home.
2. Provide for his/her own meal. Buy all the groceries he/she need and never touch a single piece of rice in the employer's kitchen
3. If he/she is renting a room in the employer's home, he/she will provide for her own cooking utensils.
4. In-house entertainment. A maid is not allowed to turn on any TV, media players, computers, etc without the employer's verbal permission.
5. Like any other professions, a maid is subjected to disciplinary actions when he/she violate the working ethics and job descriptions.

Now that would be harsh, tense or at least 'too formal' for a housemaid who is expected to bond a fairly good tie with the employer and the children under his/her care. You don't want to go to that extent so why set a condition to your prospective employer in the first place.

Let the market sort out the demand-and-supply issues

A job is a contract that both parties agree to. If there is big demand for certain job, supply will be short and price will be higher. So be creative and source for locally available supply,  or from oversea supply elsewhere where talent requirement is similar at less demanding cost.