All About Full-Time Maids

[marmum]

mummymaid:

marmum:

Should I let her be transferred or should I send her back home? How can we make these irresponsible and poor attitude maids learn their lesson that we employers are no push off and that they can come to Sgp and try their luck. Maids now come and try out and if they dont like, they juz ask to be transferred or return to agency and putting us at the losing end. Pls help to advise me any recommendations for good maids for transfer or agency that you can recommend. Really cant keep her any longer and in a dilemma now that its year end and next year darling son going to P1.

I wish there's an official place for us to make feedback and get the big shots (MOM, AEAS, etc) to understand we are at the mercy of maids. Treat them good simply isn't good in their eyes!

Hi mummymaid, fully understand how you feel but somehow we employers seems to be at their mercy. What to do? Hope that MOM would review on this, hopefully in the coming election. They really need to do something to safeguard us employers when the maids play us out by asking to go back to agency for no apparent reason or that their working attitude is so bad that is not accepted, they do funny things, or neglect safety and endanger our darling kids or even us. If such things happen, its juz our luck and we have to endure them till we get a replacement/ new maid.


http://www.asiaone.com/News/Mailbox/Story/A1Story20101110-246542.html

Here's a good example of siding maid all the way... reply from AEAS for above link
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AEAS stood firmed to say employers had to cover the costs, hassle and time wasted on runaway maid. She used the reason maids earned lesser and already taking loan to come to Spore so employers had to cough out all the money incurred. Are we, employers earning a lot? Are we suppose to pay for levy, pro-rated insurance and agent fees in the event of runaway maids …. Yes, according to the reply of Shirley Ng. Does she know that if the maid runaway without good reasons, even if just worked for one day, employer liable to pay 21 days levy?

Some other foreign workers also here on loans. She totally forgot a maid does not need to pay house rental nor her three meals while other workers and Singaporeans had to! If you take into consideration her salary $360/mth + levy $170 + estimate house rental $200/mth + meals provided ($3 x 3meals x 31 days) + toiletries, medical & miscellaneous $50/mth = $1100. This means employer had to invest over $1000 on just one maid! If I hire somebody trustworthy and able to be a good helper, I dont mind cos its worth it! But how many good maids available these days?

If you get a job, eg as a cleaner or cashier, minus CPF, 3 meals, pay for housing, utilies & electrical expenses, transport and clothings ... how much are you left to keep? A maid gets $360/mth - flat rate, nothing will be deducted cos employers take care of the rest. Having a maid means employers are rich? Where did this theory come from?

Kept insisting maids incapable of making our lives miserable and completely ignored the voices of employers who were played out by scheming or irresponsible maids. These govt people just sided the maid and refused hear us. They forgot we dont belong to an organisation, unable to defend our rights ... 'eaten' by maids cos of their strong backers: MOM, AEAS, HOME and those blinded people, especially had not employed maids in their lives

If one day MOM has a regulation for maid to answer for their own actions (eg pregnant), I believe lots of employers would be relieved and be willing to let maids have a day off. Our security deposit at stake if we are not careful ... Govt shaked legs, pushed the responsibility & consequences to us for not 'grooming an obedient maid'!

:?: Anybody out there strong enough to help us? :?: We are forsaken!!

[chatelaine]

Hi marmum


Wow, think she will spoilt your floor in no time.

My ex-maid happened to finish her loan. Our contract allow us to exchange maid within 6mths. You must go thru your contract and see if
they allow you to exchange. If she has not finished her loan, I don't think you can send her home. If not, you will end up paying for her
loan. How you pay her loan, the sum of money paid to agency one? Instalment or post-dated cheque?

Philippino maids are smarter than Indonesia maids but Indo maid pickup skills quite fast. Bear in mind, sometimes they will act blur too. Initial
barrier is only the communication.

Does your agent has Indo maid? If yes, just do an exchange. :love:

[chatelaine]

Hi janet_lee88


Same here, my ex-maid also choosy on instant noodles.

janet_lee88:

My maids ate non-stop when they first arrived...although they told me don't eat this and that...but still ate. They told me they don't eat roast duck or salted egg but they ate :x .

After 3 months, they ate until their clothes got too tight...and started to get choosy over food. That includes instant noodles !!!

[chatelaine]

Hi Joeyz18


Alamak, she forgot she put the clothes out to dry huh?
Then ask her to handwash it after the rain, she will sure remember :love:

My granny always complain about the maid. After the maid left, then my mum got to know how stress my 80+ granny was. Granny said she has to watch her work la, this and that. Somemore, the maid dare to talk back to my granny such as \"Why you keep watching me work?\" We don't even talk back to our granny, she being the most senior at home :love:

Joeyz18:

Chatelaine,
my mil was complaining the new maid rude and scare ppl( like sudden appear behind with no sound!) so i called up agent, then agent spoke to her lor. after start to be more polite like greeting people. at one time, so piss off that wanted changed her cso i think she damn rude, but agent said sometimes myanmar maid are like that cos they are quiet.

she ate big bowl of rice, now getting sick of bread but likes ice-cream. oh, and when rains, she still continue happily do the housework w/o bringing in the clothes!

[hquek]

hi marmum,


I think you either clear your house of abrasive materials or change maid. If she spoil the floor, it’s going to cost you more than her loan.

I’ve never had the guts to try fili maids - so far both times indonesian. I got those with working experience (but NOT SG). So far ok. my fren tried ex-MYS indo - also can.

Yes, I’m sure they act blur although they know what’s going on.

My agent always tell me to get those with some education, and some work experience in JKT/elsewhere (I chose non SG).

[chatelaine]

Hi hquek


Same here, I also choose Indo maid with some education and has no work experience except Jakarta. Those with work experience outside
Indonesia are usually smart alex and will try to do funny things. :!:

[janet88]

chatelaine:

Hi hquek


Same here, I also choose Indo maid with some education and has no work experience except Jakarta. Those with work experience outside
Indonesia are usually smart alex and will try to do funny things. :!:

I still prefer Indon maids over Filipino ones...Filipino work attitude sucks and they think they are more superior...alamak, be it Indon or Filipino, they are also doing the same thing :stupid:

[mummymaid]

Hope more people get their misfortune posted in the papers so that MOM know there are really employers who need assistance and protection.


Maybe better for those with evidence to upload on STOMP?
Happened to talk to parents who told me they caught their maid on video ill-treating their child. It was shown on CCTV the maid purposely stick out her leg to make their tot fall on hard floor.


TODAY on-line, Voices
Does Manpower Ministry require due diligence from maid agencies?Letter from Ruth Wong
Nov 22, 2010

MY helper, who came to work with my family a week ago, suddenly left our home without a word and returned about three hours later, saying that she had gone out to meet her friends. We were appalled by her irresponsible behaviour.

We called the maid agency to inform them that she was missing and also searched for her. In the process, I discovered a name card in her wallet and suspected it belonged to her former employer (she had worked in Singapore and left a few months ago).

I decided to call her former employer and asked if our maid might have gone to her place.

She was surprised to learn that her former maid was working for me.

I was shocked to learn that the maid had been sent home before the end of her two-year contract because she had stolen money from her former employer's family. They did not file a police report as they did not want to ruin the maid's future. Instead, they sent her back to Indonesia.

We decided to immediately send our maid back to the agency.

We could not risk having a dishonest helper in the family.

We had already intended, a few days earlier, to send the maid back as we found her to have a poor attitude. Her work performance was also below our expectations despite the fact that she had worked as a domestic helper in Singapore and Indonesia. But the agency advised us to keep her until we found a new one.

I have a small baby and an elderly mother to look after, and this incident has left us feeling stressed. We hope the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) can help to address our concerns.

Firstly, does MOM require maid agencies to perform due diligence and confirm the maids' information reflected in their bio-data?

In our case, it wasn't just the bio-data of our new maid that was inaccurate. When we went to the agency to hire a replacement and conducted a phone interview with a prospective maid, we found out that she had not worked here for two years, as was stated in her bio-data.

She had only worked here for seven months before being sent back to Indonesia. How could the agency provide us with the wrong information twice?

Can the MOM make it at least compulsory for maid agencies to verify the period maids have worked here?

Maids who do not complete their two-year contract should be investigated by agencies further.

In addition, what avenue is there for employers to seek legal recourse where the maid agency's professionalism is found wanting, to the point that it causes employers unnecessary stress and inconvenience?

When we told the head of the maid agency that we did not want the maid to be sent here to work again (to protect other families from suffering the same fate that we and her ex-employer did), the agency's head said there was no way she could stop the recruiter from marketing the maid to another agency.

Can the MOM can put a stop to this? What regulations does it have to protect employers from malpractice and unprofessional maid agencies?

Finally, when we sent the maid back to the agency, she was visibly happy and showed no sign of remorse.

It is critical that domestic helpers are closely monitored. Perhaps MOM could set up a registry for domestic helpers like that for real estate agents.

[chatelaine]

Hi mummymaid


Sad to hear what you have encountered. We can only hope maid agency to be truthful to us.

Usually those Indo maid age reported will be older as it seemed to be.

My ex-maid is very afraid of her agency. When we sent her back to the agency for questioning, she answered in a soft tone kind of shivering.

Before that, my hubby questioned her. She wasn't even scared nor cried. Even made request to call home to check with her dad whether to go back home or continue working in SG.

We never give her the chance to call home, afraid she will be up to some mischief.

[KSmom8]

mummymaid:

She wants to feel she's in command in my house but I refused. I got real mad one day n told her, 'bear in mind, I'm yr employer and I pay u yr salary'. She repeatedly disregards my instructions = no respect yet complained I dont respect her


Hubby said I was harshed I no choice what!

I also tahan my previous Fili maid for over 2 years...when I became a SAHM. I also told her that \"I am your employer and I pay your salary so I have a right to tell you how to do it right in my home.\" Obviously she disregards my instructions, has no respect for me, has no basic manners (she never says good morning or good night or sorry).. her only saving grace is that she is a fast worker, so both my hubby and mum liked her. Unfortunately, they didn't see the sloppy work and didn't have to bear with the attitude. My hubby also said that I was harsh with her and my mum also thought that I should have chosen my words more carefully. :shock:
When she was near to completing 4 years working for us, her black face showed more frequently and even my mum and hubby saw it. Finally when I insisted that I did not want to keep her anymore, no one tried to dissuade me.
The day that my maid left, my elder child was so happy and my younger child did not even kick up a fuss. After my new Indo maid arrived, my mum actually remarked that the kids were happier, never mind that the new maid was slower.
My regrets were not sacking my previous maid earlier and actually agreeing to a transfer for her to another employer. However, I am glad that in her last weeks with me, I made it clear that she had to do her job well and show good attitude, otherwise I would not hesitate to send her back to the Phillipines. I told her that under the law, I am only obliged to buy an airticket home for her and I need not agree to a transfer. I also highlighted that an airticket to the Philippines is so cheap and not necessary more expensive than the levy that I would have to pay whilst she is looking for a new employer at the agency.

So to cut a long story short, I think that you should give send your maid back to her home country. It's simpler easier and less stressful. Since she is with you for over 1 year, her loan should be paid and I think that you are under no obligation to return her to the agent, but check your agency agreement to be sure. Why agree to her request for a transfer? You will be paying her levy whilst she is looking for an employer at the agency! An airticket is so cheap nowadays... as for excess luggage I don't think it is the employer's oblligation to pay... afterall she came to Singapore with a small bag didn't she?