What is the salary of a first-time FDW?

The salary of a first-time FDW, like that of her more experienced colleague, is determined by the market, to a certain extent. Two FDWs working under very similar conditions may not necessarily get the same pay. In the early eighties Filipino FDWs were paid about SID 100 more than Sri Lankans or Indonesians. Now the gap between the salary of a Filipino FDW and an Indonesian FDW, for example, has closed from $100.00 down to $40.00 - or even zero!

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, POEA, stipulated minimum salary of USD400 (w.e.f. from 1 March 2007) with one day off each week.
Most Singapore employers seem to ignorant of this and choose to remain ignorant.
Sri Lankans generally expect between SID 200 and 250 depending on their experience and proficiency in English (or lack of it). However, the best among Sri Lankan women aspiring to work abroad much prefer to work in Jordan, Cyprus and other such places. With new businesses springing up after the end of the civil war the pool of unemployed Sri Lankan women has shrunk and fewer care to work in Singapore.
Until recently, the minimum salary acceptable to an Indonesian FDW has been SID 240.^** Some agencies set the salary at SID 250 if the FDW includes pork in her diet. However, this will change. As demand for Indonesian domestic workers rises (in the Middle-east, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia), a shortage of Singapore-bound Indonesian FDWs is a likely consequence, unless employers are willing to pay more for their services. And it has changed. Thanks to the minimum age requirement and the Entry Test, it has become harder to recruit Indonesian domestic helpers for Singapore and the asking pay for first-timers has has sky-rocketed by mid-2011.
Myanmar and ethnic Nepalese domiciled in India generally ask for and receive the same salary as Filipinos or slightly lower.

There is a dearth of good Indonesian domestic workers for Singapore. The salary they get is a only a fraction of what new foreign workers get in Hong Kong and Taipei.
It is more than likely the salary offered to Indonesian domestic workers will rise. By mid-2011 Indonesian recruiters are asking for $450 for first-timers!