Should maids be given a day off every week?

[SMH FOREST]

Dunno if I'm the only one, but I just feel that my opinions are being skewed... hit the nail right on the head?!? :roll:


Suffer hardship.. pls dont think all of us who keep maids at home are just shaking leg... we are also caring for our kids and taking care of our home. Nation building? When we treat our maids as part of our family.. it is a very good showing to our kids on how to treat people.

My point again... there are many facets to a situation or problem... I think many people dont realise that some households just have it harder and want a blanket rule that would not have much impact to a PERFECT scenario...

There is a group of us who has this NEED to have help... we are not failures in parenting.. nor are we bad employers.. there's too many circumstances and reasons for having that extra help... if you don't see it, then to repeat again, u aint living the life that we are going thru... and you aren't opening yourself to understand others predicament..

Leaving the maid and employer to reach an agreement will solve this isn't it? If maid aint interested to work for no off days, then don't accept the job that requires it. We should regard the maids as having the maturity to decide what they want BEFORE they accept the job. This just adds on to the fact that the authorities should be regulating the maid agencies so that they can stop exploiting the employers and allowing transfers whenever, wherever.

[icemochi]

i like to believe that human rights for DH goes deeper than a day off. There are people who work everyday as well. However, we can go into some general cases of what will happen if this law goes through.


1) For DHs who are treated well and would like to save $ so as to go back home : Now they have to go out every sunday, as no boss would serve them meals and do all the chores while they stay at home relaxing around.

2) For DHs who are overworked : Yes, they get a day off weekly but their boss will still overwork them the rest of the 6 days, probably more so as to make up for it. This is what is happening in HK. We can do this and people will view us on par with HK… Good for the government too.

3) For DHs who are abused : if the abuse starts small, she can escape provided the boss is not a crazy person who locks her up.

4) For employers who are liberal: they wouldnt mind.

5) For employers who are conservative: they would worry themselves so much its never possible for them to trust the maid. The relationship between boss-DH is worsened.

In my humble opinion, this law, should it be passed does not signify a win for maid’s human rights. For DHs in case (1), they lose, as they have to spend more money and stay a maid longer.

[Pen88n]

3Boys:

Pen88n:

I think it should come as a package. Other places may provide day off, but their maid quality is higher than in Singapore. Terms are also more favourable to employers and maids are not allowed to transfer. If these are in-placed and employers are no longer responsible for the guarantee bond for the maid, I do not see why there should be objection to off-day for maids. It is because employers are always put at a disadvantage - maid can request for transfer, guarantee bond at stake when maid run away, etc. By insisting on legislating off-day (just because other places are offering this) without other terms being equal is not being fair to employers.

Catch-22 right? Low pay, no off-days = Poorer quality of maids

Yes, I agree the other stuff need to be addressed from the employers' perspective, but glad to see that you are in principle agreeing with a maid's day off.

Personaly, I am never against maid having off-day provided as employers we are not \"dragged\" into any mess due to her having her off-days. Mess like:
- maid transfer
- getting pregnant
- moon-lighting
- missing
- stealing from employers
- worst scenario like fighting or getting killed

If she is caught in any of these acts and there are laws to deal with her act and repatriated back to her country (and the authority should be strict and act on this so as to issue \"warning\" to all maids) without me having impact of financial loss or inconvenience, I really would not want to interfere with how she spend her off-day.

Currently, all the above-mentioned mess are happening all the time, so how to give off-days when you are the person responsible for her action? For clarification, I do not have a maid now, as I do not want to deal with the mess that I had to deal with years ago. It cost me more stress than having to deal with a dirty house!

[Picolo]

Pen88n:

3Boys:

[quote=\"Pen88n\"]
I think it should come as a package. Other places may provide day off, but their maid quality is higher than in Singapore. Terms are also more favourable to employers and maids are not allowed to transfer. If these are in-placed and employers are no longer responsible for the guarantee bond for the maid, I do not see why there should be objection to off-day for maids. It is because employers are always put at a disadvantage - maid can request for transfer, guarantee bond at stake when maid run away, etc. By insisting on legislating off-day (just because other places are offering this) without other terms being equal is not being fair to employers.

Catch-22 right? Low pay, no off-days = Poorer quality of maids

Yes, I agree the other stuff need to be addressed from the employers' perspective, but glad to see that you are in principle agreeing with a maid's day off.

Personaly, I am never against maid having off-day provided as employers we are not \"dragged\" into any mess due to her having her off-days. Mess like:
- maid transfer
- getting pregnant
- moon-lighting
- missing
- stealing from employers
- worst scenario like fighting or getting killed

If she is caught in any of these acts and there are laws to deal with her act and repatriated back to her country (and the authority should be strict and act on this so as to issue \"warning\" to all maids) without me having impact of financial loss or inconvenience, I really would not want to interfere with how she spend her off-day.

Currently, all the above-mentioned mess are happening all the time, so how to give off-days when you are the person responsible for her action? For clarification, I do not have a maid now, as I do not want to deal with the mess that I had to deal with years ago. It cost me more stress than having to deal with a dirty house![/quote]When the maid goes out regularly, how can you ensure that nasty things would not happen to your own family/house? My ex-colleague had a neighbour (living opp her HDB unit, the door-to-door type) who allowed her maid to go on day-off regularly. One night, somebody set fire to their main door! Her neighbour reported it to the police. Soon after the incident, the maid requested to go back to Philippines for some reasons. Some time past and one day, a woman (another maid) knocked on her neighbour's door and requested to see her maid. But her maid had left. Found out that actually, her maid borrowed a lot of money from her 'friends' in Singapore before she left. The fire was set by some people who were angry with her.

Are you willing to take the risk, to allow your maid to have time for a complicated social life? Are you prepared for the sh** after that?

A few years ago I had the most efficient maid. She was also very smart and responsible. To reward her, I allowed her to keep a mobile phone, so that she can message her younger bro in Indonesia whenever she needed to. Soon, she requested for day-off, saying that she wanted to meet her cousin who is staying at the other side of Singapore. I gave her day-off too. One day, she suspected she was pregnant and pretended that her mother wanted to see her badly and she needed to go back to Indonesia. I saw through her pretence and agreed immediately. Actually, her work attitude changed drastically after she was given day-off. I looked through her belongings trying to find some clues. Guess what, I found a diary she was keeping. In it, she wrote about a boyfriend, jealousy among the maid friends over the man, about where they went (incl Hotel 81), how he didn't answer her calls and messages after the ..., how frustrated when her menses didn't come,.... I couldn't believe how I had made her fall into a man's trap by giving her day-off ...

[3Boys]

SMH FOREST:

Dunno if I'm the only one, but I just feel that my opinions are being skewed... hit the nail right on the head?!? :roll:

Not skewed, we just have different philosophies and outlook on life, that's all.

[1amber]

3Boys:

1amber, SMH,

you have hit the nail right on the head! It is part of the point I am trying to make all along.

Ho ho ho what a delusion. Nothing can be further from the truth than this. Preposterous. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[3Boys]

1amber:

3Boys:

1amber, SMH,

you have hit the nail right on the head! It is part of the point I am trying to make all along.

Ho ho ho what a delusion. Nothing can be further from the truth than this. Preposterous. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

In what way? You say that folk in Germany, UK and US suffer for the lack of maids, and I agree. And then you imply that we have it better here because its easy to have maids and have the ability to dictate working days, and I say it is not ok. Geddit? Here is where the divergence occurs, but your initial point is also my point about the philosopies in European countries, from a different perspective. There is nothing delusional, I understand your point exactly, and it is that folk in Europe manage without maids. Not as comfortably as they would with them, but they manage. And the laws in those countries preclude the types of conditions that maids work under here, which is the unsaid corollary of your position, if you realize (I hope you did).

[cacti79kc]

I don actually mind about a day off. Like above mentioned don want to clear up a mess the DH does. I have observered from a few maids that I have seen when they first come they are super hardworking and good . As time moves after 6mths and if have influence of meeting people outside mixing with others there is a total change on the overall.


Actually this is the fact, nobody wants to ill treat any DH. Due to past experience or stories from friends and relatives we become cautious to be strict with DH. They push to the limit to become nasty. There are naughty employers too I don deny. But very low statics. The govt think so much for them how about us if our living quality is good we can just stay at home look after the children and no need to slog like a dog. can teach them, feed healthy food ,take care of them , don fall into bad company. The living expense is so high and sometimes feel we are working so hard for DH to pay their salary , levy , food, medical and they shake leg at home and relax can nap take time to eat. Unlike us take bus met get packed in them run for it.

Govt should see the prob from the core not on the overall. Do something for the woman of our society.

[3Boys]

LOLMum:

i think in the so many pages of posts, most of us do in principle, agree that maids should have a day off but there should not be a law enforcing it. it is best to leave it to the 2 parties to work out an agreement.

I have a kidney to sell you, you know anyone in need?

Willing buyer, willing seller, no need law to enforce it.....let 2 parties work an agreement.

A senior medical figure proposed this at one time, not so far-fetched right?

[Pen88n]

Picolo:

Pen88n:

Personaly, I am never against maid having off-day provided as employers we are not \"dragged\" into any mess due to her having her off-days. Mess like:
- maid transfer
- getting pregnant
- moon-lighting
- missing
- stealing from employers
- worst scenario like fighting or getting killed

If she is caught in any of these acts and there are laws to deal with her act and repatriated back to her country (and the authority should be strict and act on this so as to issue \"warning\" to all maids) without me having impact of financial loss or inconvenience, I really would not want to interfere with how she spend her off-day.

Currently, all the above-mentioned mess are happening all the time, so how to give off-days when you are the person responsible for her action? For clarification, I do not have a maid now, as I do not want to deal with the mess that I had to deal with years ago. It cost me more stress than having to deal with a dirty house!

When the maid goes out regularly, how can you ensure that nasty things would not happen to your own family/house? My ex-colleague had a neighbour (living opp her HDB unit, the door-to-door type) who allowed her maid to go on day-off regularly. One night, somebody set fire to their main door! Her neighbour reported it to the police. Soon after the incident, the maid requested to go back to Philippines for some reasons. Some time past and one day, a woman (another maid) knocked on her neighbour's door and requested to see her maid. But her maid had left. Found out that actually, her maid borrowed a lot of money from her 'friends' in Singapore before she left. The fire was set by some people who were angry with her.

Are you willing to take the risk, to allow your maid to have time for a complicated social life? Are you prepared for the sh** after that?

A few years ago I had the most efficient maid. She was also very smart and responsible. To reward her, I allowed her to keep a mobile phone, so that she can message her younger bro in Indonesia whenever she needed to. Soon, she requested for day-off, saying that she wanted to meet her cousin who is staying at the other side of Singapore. I gave her day-off too. One day, she suspected she was pregnant and pretended that her mother wanted to see her badly and she needed to go back to Indonesia. I saw through her pretence and agreed immediately. Actually, her work attitude changed drastically after she was given day-off. I looked through her belongings trying to find some clues. Guess what, I found a diary she was keeping. In it, she wrote about a boyfriend, jealousy among the maid friends over the man, about where they went (incl Hotel 81), how he didn't answer her calls and messages after the ..., how frustrated when her menses didn't come,.... I couldn't believe how I had made her fall into a man's trap by giving her day-off ...

Picolo,

I do not and cannot deny those mess you have pointed out, becos I've experienced it myself. However, as a human being, I also understand the need for a break, a time away from employer to re-charge (as we do when we work as well). It is just that the maids come from such different background, with such different moral values and sense of responsibility, that we employers sometimes end up at the receiving end of their \"misdeeds\" - not fair indeed.

I do see that in time to come, with the pressure coming internationally for legislation of off-day, this might become an issue which the employers will have to find ways to deal with by then.