Should maids be given a day off every week?
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Verykiasu, shld ask her to go thru the postings here also.
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Angelight:
Verykiasu, shld ask her to go thru the postings here also.
very tempting indeed
may be should also visit her at her MPS and let her know .... or ask her to help solve maid problems then she would know ....... -
comet7:
:goodpost:There are all sorts of maids around, just like there are all sorts of employers too.
If a maid uses her off day to relax herself, or to enrich herself by taking up courses, I am sure employers will not be against maids taking a off day. But if a maid hangs around with bad company at lucky plaza, no employer would risk letting the maid take the off day. Have you all seen what some maids do behind takashimaya? They offer massage service for men, do manicure, pedicure for other maids. I have personally witnessed it. I have also seen maids hang around, behave intimately with bangladeshi workers.
I know they are humans too, and humans are social beings. But when they 'socialise', they get influenced, and may pick up bad habits. It is inevitable for them to compare their employers. In fact, I believe all maids do that. However, sometimes, after they have 'widened' their knowledge, they will want to seek greener pastures. When they want to go home before the 2 year contract, we have to pay for their air-ticket. Not only that, we suffer the inconvenience of having to train a new maid all over again. The new maid comes, innocent, hardworking and good. Then get influenced by other maids, and the vicious cycle continues.
I am not saying that all maids are bad. In fact, many are valuable helpers. But it is a fact that the quality of maids coming to S'pore has deteriorated in the past decade. I think before the law is passed, the policy-makers should take a walk behind Takashimaya, to understand why some employers are not willing to give their maids off-days.
I -
verykiasu2010:
100% agree with you. Which maid is so hardworking to work all the time. Please la, they know how to eat snake.
whose maid works round the clock ?Nebbermind:
why we'll never find a solution if it emain status quo?
coz....
maid get only small $ but work around the clock.
employers paid small $ + levy and still fully responsible for the well being of the maid.
ah gong collect levy and shake leg....
Who is the ultimate winner??
please don't talk rubbish
if the maid works round the clock, the employer would have been in jail already and they quickly report to Indo Embassy already. You think they are all so stupid ? They are all given Indo embassy number and MOM number to call.
Rubbish ! -
verykiasu2010:
:goodpost: True. True..whether day off or not should be a private arrangement between maid and employer. not every maid wants to go out and waste money
if employer abuses the working condition of the maid, throw them into jail
who protects employer when the maid abuses the employer household ?
all the rules and regulations are staked against employer
looks like MOM and Halimah is pushing maid employer to the wall...forcing the dog to jump over the wall -
Nebbermind:
It is NOT true that maid gets small $ but works round the clock.why we'll never find a solution if it emain status quo?
coz....
maid get only small $ but work around the clock.
employers paid small $ + levy and still fully responsible for the well being of the maid.
ah gong collect levy and shake leg....
Who is the ultimate winner??
The money they earn is not SMALL. My fresh inexperienced maid earns almost 3 times what the ave per capita GDP of their countryfolks. I have read somewhere a burmese farmer earns only US$300-400 pa.
A relative of mine worked as a security guard. Slogged for 12 hours 6 days a week under hot sun and earns $900 after he retired from civil service. He had to pay for his own housing, food and medical bills. He was forced to resettled and now I have to foot his mortgage bills for the new flat which govt forced him to buy. Compare $400pm for a simple maid job (food lodging medical bills all taken care off) to $900pm daily rated. Is $400 small?
When he got older he took up a PT library job and got paid $450pm. Then he got lymphoma and library had to let him go. Medical bill - hefty. Who pays? His employer???
I think Halima should look at local workers plight first.
Does a maid work round the clock? Many households have both parents working, live in small apartments. Do you believe they slog all day while employers are out? I have observed my maids and on ave they do real work for not more than 6 hours. The rest of the time walk here walk there. Many maids at my condo spend hours chit chatting at the playground and swimming pool. How is that a slog?
I agree there are many good maids. They are almost too good to be true at this day and age. The deterioration of maid standards in this past decade is really brought about by wrong policies and bias views. -
smartmummy:
:goodpost:
:goodpost:comet7:
There are all sorts of maids around, just like there are all sorts of employers too.
If a maid uses her off day to relax herself, or to enrich herself by taking up courses, I am sure employers will not be against maids taking a off day. But if a maid hangs around with bad company at lucky plaza, no employer would risk letting the maid take the off day. Have you all seen what some maids do behind takashimaya? They offer massage service for men, do manicure, pedicure for other maids. I have personally witnessed it. I have also seen maids hang around, behave intimately with bangladeshi workers.
I know they are humans too, and humans are social beings. But when they 'socialise', they get influenced, and may pick up bad habits. It is inevitable for them to compare their employers. In fact, I believe all maids do that. However, sometimes, after they have 'widened' their knowledge, they will want to seek greener pastures. When they want to go home before the 2 year contract, we have to pay for their air-ticket. Not only that, we suffer the inconvenience of having to train a new maid all over again. The new maid comes, innocent, hardworking and good. Then get influenced by other maids, and the vicious cycle continues.
I am not saying that all maids are bad. In fact, many are valuable helpers. But it is a fact that the quality of maids coming to S'pore has deteriorated in the past decade. I think before the law is passed, the policy-makers should take a walk behind Takashimaya, to understand why some employers are not willing to give their maids off-days.
I -
comet7:
Fundamentally, they are adults and are free to live their own lives. Keeping a maid in without opportunity to go out and find out or learn about things, is, in my mind, almost tantamount to wrongful confinement.There are all sorts of maids around, just like there are all sorts of employers too.
If a maid uses her off day to relax herself, or to enrich herself by taking up courses, I am sure employers will not be against maids taking a off day. But if a maid hangs around with bad company at lucky plaza, no employer would risk letting the maid take the off day. Have you all seen what some maids do behind takashimaya? They offer massage service for men, do manicure, pedicure for other maids. I have personally witnessed it. I have also seen maids hang around, behave intimately with bangladeshi workers.
I know they are humans too, and humans are social beings. But when they 'socialise', they get influenced, and may pick up bad habits. It is inevitable for them to compare their employers. In fact, I believe all maids do that. However, sometimes, after they have 'widened' their knowledge, they will want to seek greener pastures. When they want to go home before the 2 year contract, we have to pay for their air-ticket. Not only that, we suffer the inconvenience of having to train a new maid all over again. The new maid comes, innocent, hardworking and good. Then get influenced by other maids, and the vicious cycle continues.
I
Yes, by all means, make the maids self-responsible, change the regulations (as they have for pregnancy cases) and make them pay their own way if the break contract, but keeping in a maid to prevent her getting so called 'bad influence' is not a valid excuse. As I wrote in a different post, would we stand for it if our employer told us we were not allowed to go comparison shop for better working conditions or pay, and confined us to our office to prevent us from doing so? Who among us would stand for it?
It matters not if a maid is good or bad, it matters not if she is very free at home with little to do on most days, it matters not if the employer treats her with good food and other amenities, a day off now and then to get out, to me, is a fundamental right. -
1amber:
:goodpost: Should settle the low income Singaporeans first.
It is NOT true that maid gets small $ but works round the clock.Nebbermind:
why we'll never find a solution if it emain status quo?
coz....
maid get only small $ but work around the clock.
employers paid small $ + levy and still fully responsible for the well being of the maid.
ah gong collect levy and shake leg....
Who is the ultimate winner??
The money they earn is not SMALL. My fresh inexperienced maid earns almost 3 times what the ave per capita GDP of their countryfolks. I have read somewhere a burmese farmer earns only US$300-400 pa.
A relative of mine worked as a security guard. Slogged for 12 hours 6 days a week under hot sun and earns $900 after he retired from civil service. He had to pay for his own housing, food and medical bills. He was forced to resettled and now I have to foot his mortgage bills for the new flat which govt forced him to buy. Compare $400pm for a simple maid job (food lodging medical bills all taken care off) to $900pm daily rated. Is $400 small?
When he got older he took up a PT library job and got paid $450pm. Then he got lymphoma and library had to let him go. Medical bill - hefty. Who pays? His employer???
I think Halima should look at local workers plight first.
Does a maid work round the clock? Many households have both parents working, live in small apartments. Do you believe they slog all day while employers are out? I have observed my maids and on ave they do real work for not more than 6 hours. The rest of the time walk here walk there. Many maids at my condo spend hours chit chatting at the playground and swimming pool. How is that a slog?
I agree there are many good maids. They are almost too good to be true at this day and age. The deterioration of maid standards in this past decade is really brought about by wrong policies and bias views. -
3Boys:
Fundamentally, they are adults and are free to live their own lives. Keeping a maid in without opportunity to go out and find out or learn about things, is, in my mind, almost tantamount to wrongful confinement.comet7:
There are all sorts of maids around, just like there are all sorts of employers too.
If a maid uses her off day to relax herself, or to enrich herself by taking up courses, I am sure employers will not be against maids taking a off day. But if a maid hangs around with bad company at lucky plaza, no employer would risk letting the maid take the off day. Have you all seen what some maids do behind takashimaya? They offer massage service for men, do manicure, pedicure for other maids. I have personally witnessed it. I have also seen maids hang around, behave intimately with bangladeshi workers.
I know they are humans too, and humans are social beings. But when they 'socialise', they get influenced, and may pick up bad habits. It is inevitable for them to compare their employers. In fact, I believe all maids do that. However, sometimes, after they have 'widened' their knowledge, they will want to seek greener pastures. When they want to go home before the 2 year contract, we have to pay for their air-ticket. Not only that, we suffer the inconvenience of having to train a new maid all over again. The new maid comes, innocent, hardworking and good. Then get influenced by other maids, and the vicious cycle continues.
I
Yes, by all means, make the maids self-responsible, change the regulations (as they have for pregnancy cases) and make them pay their own way if the break contract, but keeping in a maid to prevent her getting so called 'bad influence' is not a valid excuse. As I wrote in a different post, would we stand for it if our employer told us we were not allowed to go comparison shop for better working conditions or pay, and confined us to our office to prevent us from doing so? Who among us would stand for it?
It matters not if a maid is good or bad, it matters not if she is very free at home with little to do on most days, it matters not if the employer treats her with good food and other amenities, a day off now and then to get out, to me, is a fundamental right.
Confinement - it is very difficult to confine them even if we do not give them off - they run errands, they go out with employers, they will never be in the sorry state that you imagine.
Fundamental right - makes me sick to hear this again. The contract is stated clearly (for whatever terms therein) and it is for them to accept or reject. If they are not happy to take up the job, they can always stay back in their own country.
Remember this is not human trafficking. Many of them don't even have their own rights in their own country. Many of them don't even have one square meal a day. My maids (I am sure many KSP employers' maids also) put on weight until they stop eating so much voluntarily. Many of them are lured by the good money so they come here. They are happy that they can escape from the toil and hardship at home. Otherwise they won't be here in droves. Not all are that pitiful that you paint them to be. Fundamental right is covered in contract. If one is so concerned with fundamental rights one should be looking at human trafficking esp child kidnapping issues. These young abandoned ones are really the ones without fundamental rights. Please go speak up for them.
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