All About Full-Time Maids

[nms1]

reddiechan:

Actually makes me wonder how the Ang Mohs cope in their home country. Since they don't have this kind of luxury for normal folks.

I grew up in the UK and still have a number of friends who live there.

When I was primary school age, my mother worked part-time which was quite common among my friends' mothers at that time. She was also lucky enough to work in a polytechnic where the holidays co-incided with our school holidays. In the summer we would often go and stay with my grandparents for most of the holiday.

Looking at my friends/colleagues in the UK with young children now, some of them work part-time or condensed hours. The school hours in the UK are much more conducive to that as children are in school from 9 am-3:30 or 4 pm so it is still possible to work 5 or 6 hours a day. I have one friend who works a full day for 4 days a week leaving the children in after-school care for those days then she uses the 5th day to do her shopping, housework etc.

For younger children live-in help is very expensive - a nanny will expect their own room, weekends free, no cooking, no housework and the salary would be around SGD600 per WEEK in the London if they live in. A lot of people use child minders who are like what we call nannies here - they take 3 or 4 children into their house during the day. In London they will charge SGD200+ per WEEK. But remember both of these are qualified and/or licensed unlike our maids.

Another option is an \"au pair\" - usually a teenage girl/young adult who comes over mainly to learn English. They only need to be paid pocket money but live with you and you need to cover their living expenses. But you probably wouldn't want to live a baby with them. They work a fixed number of hours per week and are paid overtime for anything additional.

The final option is childcare which works out around SGD1800 per MONTH for under twos.

However, the government does give tax credits/vouchers for working parents. This covers children up to the age of 16 so can also be used for after-school care. This is in the process of being changed to benefit more of the above average income earners. I think for someone on average income it cover around 20% of the average cost - if you live in London or a large city you are going to be paying a lot more than the average.

As for housework, some people do employ a part-timer to come in once or twice a week but a lot of people just manage on their own. Very few people have family support nearby and eating out is very expensive so most mothers (some fathers) do have to come home and cook dinner, clean etc.

All-in-all we do have it relatively easy here in comparison to many other parts of the world. Yes, there is an issue with working hours here but many of us are lucky enough to have family to step in when necessary and have the option to buy affordable cooked food if we run out of time.

Sometimes it helps to look at what others have before we complain too much

[st2]

Any job, receptionist, sales girl etc… have to follow instructions.


Receptionist have to answer phone calls, maybe answer in a certain way as requested by her company…eg. "ABS services, how may I help you?" etc etc. She accepts the job, then decide that she will just say "Hello" and argue with the boss that she is already answering the phones, why be so fussy about they way she answers it.

Cosmetic sales girl… eg. learn product, approach customer with smile, offer to do make up for customer, sell product, keep customer records/details etc etc. She accepts the job, miserable sales and argues with the boss, "I am doing sales, I’m selling, why you bother if I do my sales according to the sales manual/training or keep records?

What do we expect from a maid? Follow OUR instructions doing domestic chores in our house. Before they accept the job to come to Singapore, they already know what type of family they will be working for.

Maids are no longer some village girl that’s just looking for a job. Most of them just want the chance to arrive here, then they start looking for their ideal job as per kokomommy’s post. Or just simply go wild… just to get away from their unhappy life at home.

It cost nothing for them to purposely annoy the 1st employer and just return to the agency, doing nothing and hang around until someone picks them again. Or get a free ticket back home. They have nothing to loose.

We have to be prepared to pay 14-21 days of levy and boarding cost when we return the maid to the agency.

Employers who only choose transfer maids have no idea of what’s it’s like to train a fresh maid and they don’t see the cost of sending the maid back to the agency.

Some maids, after going through a few employers may begin to wake up and finally decide to do an honest job with a new employer. So this new employer thinks this maid is quite good, it must be the previous employers that were bad to her. She appears quite good because she has learned a few things/lessons. She cannot afford to lose any more time/money as each time she’s transfered, she owes more salary to the agency, her family maybe calling more often and pressuring her to send money now.

Some other maids… just annoy everyone and the agent and eventually, she will get to go home, nothing to loose…just some of her time and all of our time…so what… she doesn’t care.

[cool_hi]

Hi st2,totally agree!!

The MAIn problem is ‘Nothing to lose wat!! Scared wat?’
Stay at own country also waste time right?
Come here…get a 1st experience flying…
See what it is like in a city!!
If find job tough or don’t like the face of employer,
Just have to be as lazy as possible…
Talk back…annoy the employer…
Bingo…
Get free ride home again…
Or get sent back to agency
& wait to see strike toto or not,& get a family who don’t need them to do much…
I think not bad to be a maid nowadays leh…
Nothing to lose…time they have lots la…

[st2]

Hi cool_hi


Forgot to mention the boyfriendssssss, handphonesssss, Facebook friendssss,…

Choose employer…Strike TOTO, get expat family…can try for Sir or Sir’s friendsss, maybe strike Big Sweep get expat boyfriend/husband then can be Mam…then get own maid.

[matrix0405]

Notksmum:

I agree!! Stop local transfer!!

Agree. Pay HK's pay but dun have HK's quality control.

[Kokomommy]

Hi All


Have you all read my post in Pg 862? I want to add something, my current maid told me her friends and the many maids here--- that by recommending transfer cases, the maid earn commission from the maid agency. Her friend ask her to transfer but my maid refused and told me if she transfer, her friend earn money too but she will be deducted 1 month transfer fee. And many agencies (mostly in Orchard Road) have many referrals from our maids, talking to them while we are at work and recommending new employers to them by calling their hp. Face to face interviews are conducted at the agencies during off days.

With these Sundays as off days, many naive maids are seeking new pastures and demanding higher pay with the help of agencies!!!

They also secured new jobs after they returned from home leave. So do not be surprise that your maid said they want to go back after their contract expires but in actual facts, they have a new job waiting after you paid their home tickets and rested 1 month or so and come back with a new employer waiting... The good ones earning $600 and is usually given to Ah mohs...

Check out these agencies :SuperX Employment...SunshineX..Recruit AsiaX, Dan ServicesX, Job-connectX, APAC.x...

This is an extract of my recent post at pg 862

4) Why MOM does not waive the maid levy and put us employers on par with the HK, Taiwan etc? We Singaporeans employers are not \"valued \" here by these maids as they seek greener pastures after getting exp here. Those manpower ministries in HK and Taiwan only take experience maids and are paid $800. Why MOM does not look into this? Do u know the maids do not respect us here even we are paying about $800 including levy but we can only get fresh and lousy exp maids for these prices?

5) Do you know the maids in Taiwan and HK cannot ask for transfer? any requests by them are not entertained. They will be asked to pay for their airfares home immediately and come back again as a new hire. So it make them work hard for at least 2 years without complaints & wary of their employers....

Maid and employers do have a differentiation. We are not talking about that they are mere products or whatever. Since uneducated women in those countries can find jobs and money here, they have to earn their respectable income by giving their services, isn't it? Only a small handful employers here are not good, but majority do know how to treat their maids well as our kids are with them. We are not so inhuman.

Indirectly, our maid agencies will not help us on this becos they also get money from transfer cases. We employers must set up a group or representatives to talk to MOM about all these. Anyone seriously keen in these?

[Notksmum]

Seems like MOM is calling for views on the Employment Legislation Reviews. Does this include FDW?


http://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/Pages/PressReleasesDetail.aspx?listid=518

[beebeemum]

Prospective employers should boycott maids from countries that demand the employers to absorb the placement fees.

Seriously speaking I don’t mind paying but do I get the guarantee that the maids will honour their part of the contract instead of asking for transfer or running away?

[cool_hi]

Exactly!! Totally agree!!

Philipino govt also think too highly of themselves la…
As if we will ‘die’ if supply from them stop!!
I personally had never ever employed a Philipino maid so far…
& will not take any in future…
Heard too many negative problems abt them,boyfriends,Hp,tal back etc…

So I don’t think I will ‘die’ if their govt wants to impose such ridiculous rules!!
They can go ahead & dream on…put more ridiculous rules…

Indonesian also same…don’t take us as fools & take us for granted!!

[beebeemum]

cool_hi,


Hi - 5!