SINGAPORE — Responding to an appeal by the Association of Employment Agencies Singapore (AEAS), the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said it will be reviewing entry requirements for foreign domestic workers.

Currently, foreign domestic workers who want to work in Singapore must be at least 23 years old, a requirement set by MOM in 2005. It was raised from the earlier 18 years, as the authorities felt older foreign domestic workers are more mature and responsible.

They also need to have at least eight years of education.

The AEAS has appealed for the MOM to lower the minimum age requirement and scrap the educational requirement, to boost the supply of foreign domestic workers here. The AEAS also said that education should be left to the employer’s specification.

AEAS president K Jayaprema said: “All of our (competitors) like Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Middle East...what they require is 18 or 21 years of age. So we are losing good candidates, potentially good candidates...”

“Most of them who are going to come out to work as domestic workers would like to leave at the age of 18 or 19, because they are not married yet,” said Ms Jayaprema. CHANNEL NEWSASIA