SINGAPORE : Singapore's first dormitory for domestic workers is almost completed. But response from agencies and migrant worker organisations has been poor.

The three-storey dormitory in Woodlands can house 400 foreign maids who are waiting for work or settling disputes with their employers.

Its operator, warehousing company LHN, said it is due to open in a few weeks' time.

Just behind the dormitory is the Johor Straits, the waterway that separates Singapore from Malaysia. Further up is an industrial area housing a power plant and over 100 companies. The nearest residential area with clinics and food courts is about a 10-minute drive away.

The location has not been popular with agencies. They usually house such maids temporarily at agency bosses' homes or in rented flats.

Winnie Wang, a maid agent, said: "The place is inconvenient because it is very far from the airport and from the central (areas). We hope that other legal dormitories can be opened, and we hope that some operators will be willing to operate these dormitories for us."

Charities which help distressed workers find the proposed room and board charges of S$25 a day too high.

Bridgette Lew, founder, HOME, said: "We were talking about lower charges, but they say that it is difficult because the cost of running and renovating the premises is so high, so they will have to charge us perhaps more than S$25 per day."

HOME spends about S$10,000 a month on lodging, food and medical fees for the 50 domestic workers it currently helps.

Another migrant rights group hopes that security at the new dorm will not be unduly restrictive.

Sha Najak, manager, Transient Workers Count Too, said: "We also need to find out (if) this security is something that the helpers staying there are ok with... that they do not feel too constricted and they do not feel too discriminated (against) at the same time."

The dorm's operator said it will respond after the dorm opens.

About 180,000 domestic workers work in Singapore and charities see an average of about 30 distressed cases every month. - CNA/ms