Should maids be given a day off every week?
-
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. -
Yes well said 1amber "hugs". Dont sign on the dotted line and later regret and give employers all sorts of problem.
-
bigsnoopy:
Yes well said 1amber \"hugs\". Dont sign on the dotted line and later regret and give employers all sorts of problem.
:celebrate: -
my maid has been with me for 2 years, she’s wonderful and reliable, mature. Now she doesn’t want to renew her contract with me as she wants every sunday off - because she has a new boyfriend who is working here and she wants to go see him every sunday! there, thats what they need the sunday off for! so what is her solution ? go to expat employer cos they surely will give her 4 sundays off and somemore will encourage her to see that guy and also allow her to bring the guy to the house.
-
the maids in my neighbourhood (landed estate) always congregate in the morning when the employers are out at work
they create such a din in their loud jesting and squeal and commotion - so bad that a few neighbours had to resort to calling police to come disperse the maids’ daily gathering. these mad maids have too much freedom, they are a nuisance to the neighbourhood -
Most maids i know dont want weekly day off, they are comfortable as it is. My aunts filipina who is quite sociable and has been here for 3 yrs now stated that should she be forced to take weekly off days, shes gonna go part time. She mentioned her friends are not surppotive of this so called law should it be implemented… she has a official once a month off day but my aunt allow her time off should she need to remit money back or meet up with her relative for a few hours.
Im not gonna follow this law if it is implemented besides Ive already asked my maid and shes happy with hercurrent contract. -
1amber:
:hi5:bigsnoopy:
Yes well said 1amber \"hugs\". Dont sign on the dotted line and later regret and give employers all sorts of problem.
:celebrate: -
verykiasu2010:
I was at a condo popular to expa n saw the maids leaving young children to run n crawl in the club room n they themselves gather together to chit chat.the maids in my neighbourhood (landed estate) always congregate in the morning when the employers are out at work
they create such a din in their loud jesting and squeal and commotion - so bad that a few neighbours had to resort to calling police to come disperse the maids' daily gathering. these mad maids have too much freedom, they are a nuisance to the neighbourhood
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register Login