Singapore’s Centre for Domestic Employees (CDE) has opened three new satellite offices to assist foreign domestic workers with employment and insurance matters.

The new offices, located at City Plaza, Peninsula Plaza, and Union Square, will serve as walk-in centres for foreign domestic workers with various employment concerns, and are specifically located at areas were domestic workers gather during their rest days.

CDE, a non-government organisation formed through the initiative of the National Trades Union Congress, has announced that it is also planning to open an office at Lucky Plaza, but it has yet to find a suitable space in the area, reported Channel News Asia.

CDE is developing a membership plan for foreign domestic workers, allowing them to access several services, such as telecommunications and insurance, at preferential rates.

The centre also encouraged employers to pay their maids’ salaries through bank transfers to avoid disputes regarding compensation. According to Yeo Guat Kwang, if a foreign domestic worker requests their employer to be paid through electronic means, the employer must honour their request, as stated by the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.

In May, the Ministry of Manpower increased the minimum personal accident insurance for domestic workers to SGD60,000 from SGD40,000, a move which was encouraged by the CDE.


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