Should maids be given a day off every week?

[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.

[verykiasu2010]

Pen88n:

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.

I do not think the ILO pressure is on off day per se. Look at what is reported today about 400+ workers squeezed into dormitory meant for only 215. That is the main issue, and things like that.

It is stupid that we pay million$$ just for minister to make policies that penalise parents/employers and protect the offender maids. Something is really rottenly wrong. Instead of policy makers helping citizens deal with issues, they are creating more issues for citizens to have to deal with.

Simple logic tells you that you cannot hold a person accountable for the action of another adult person that you have no control over with, eg maids who are forced to get out of the house because of legislated off day, and whatever she does outside, while the maid can \"return\" to the agencies and call their embassy at their whims and fancies with cooked up excuses. This world is warped.

This is not an argument for imprisoning the maid as some forumers like to claim. It is simply wrong that in a free market an employer cannot be free make a mutually acceptable agreement with the maid. Worse than a communist government or a police state.

[icemochi]

a day off weekly = human rights, is a joke.

there are rich people who work everyday and there are jobless people who can rest everyday.

People who wants to retire on this island has to work 30 yrs to pay back their HDBloan. If DHs are disciplined and save up their money, they need only to fulfill the 2 years’ contract to build that land house in their homeland.

[SMH FOREST]

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.

Why I say skewed? It's becos my points were taken to prove your point. Of course we have different outlooks.. and issues, and that's what I've been trying to highlight in my many many posts...

[Flower Power]

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 ...[/quote]



Piccolo, your post above about your ex-maid sounds so familar to me. Almost identical requests and reasons from my ex-maid (she who worked for me for 4 years). However the ending is vastly different. During her term, she too off and on requested for a mobile phone to call/sms her younger bro in Indo, she also requested for day-off, saying that she wanted to meet her cousin who is working in SG. Both requests I did not accede to - I told her that she has chosen and agreed to work in our household based on our mutually agreed terms from day one. Even when she renewed her second term of another 2 years with us, the same terms are reiterated and she has again chosen and agreed to the same terms (of course her salary is revised according to market rate). So why made all these requests which deviates from our mutually agreed terms? I stood firm by our initial agreement - she completed her 4.5 years with me, went home to get married, with 2 plots of land and a brand new house. I must emphasize that I am not claiming any credit here - her 4.5 years here in SG has paid off due to her own hard work and being able to stay focused.