All About Full-Time Maids

[DesertWind]

vivienpg:

Her main job is to do household, but come next year when my son goes kindy, he will be in house for whole pm and I have plans for her to read to him and go through simple dot exercises with him..sigh, guess I am too demanding....

Hi vivienpg,

What nationality is your maid? Are you a SAHM or FTWM?
If you expect your maid to look after 2 kids (one pre-schooler and one infant), then got to prioritize and put housework second priority. Or you got to get outside help to do the housework. The maid won't be able to cope with so much. As for car-wash it is true. It is very tiring and hard work. Why get the maid to do it when it can be done for SGD6-9 outside? Although I also wish my maid could read more to my kids but I got to temper my expectation. My Indo. maid's English is just not quite there. I am planning to hire a tuition teacher home if I need to next year when my older boy go K1...

For me I am a FTWM and my maid looks after 2 kids. I now order ting kat dinner so that she does not need to cook dinner, only lunch for my boy and herself. I also get part-time help with the housework so that she does not need to wash the toilets, vacuum, mop and iron the clothes anymore. She certainly does not wash the car. Also because my husband scared she scratch it so he washes it himself. After a couple of times he gave up and send for car-wash outside. She also does not look after the kids at night, I need her to sleep well at night so that she is on full alert during the daytime when I go to work.

As to whether to change your maid. My concern is her lack of strength and the pale episode. If she is prone to fainting and not sensible enough to eat well so that she can look after your kids well, then I will say change her. Must first be very clear what you want in a maid then go looking. Generally if you expect the maid to read to your kids and help them do simple homework, get from Philippines and must be a college graduate.

[peapot]

That’s a good start, Peace Charlie. From your post, I learn abit more about maids in HK and Taiwan. This really raise a question in my head. Why would these maids then flock there and one even in the limelight for fighting to be a PR? The Singapore media played it up?? Was the hype then a deception?

[LOLMum]

my view.


maids prefer to work in hk and taiwan because of higher pay. maid issues are not mentioned too often in the papers in taiwan unless it is very serious abuse.

maids like hk because the few organisations helping them (especially for the philippines maids) are very very vocal and powerful. they can apply to go on protests on the streets of hk and permits are usually granted. not only that political parties also like to get involved in all these disputes to put themselves in good light. like our situation here, if a maid makes a complaint against employer, chances of employer losing is pretty high. most employers prefer to pay $$$ to get the ordeal over and done with asap cos’ case could drag on and on. also day off on sunday and holidays is a must.

hk has a lot of english influence so there are many people (especially young people) who believe that maids should not be discriminated against getting pr status.

and no, spore media didnt play it up. but this pr case is a major concern for all pp there.

[moom]

silverhorse:

moom:

Has anyone selected their maids from the online maid libraries? Quite a few around.. Are the descriptions mostly hogwash? Can be trusted? Descriptions a bit too good to be true leh..

Hi Moom,

I got my previous and current helper online ( netmaid library).
Descriptions are pretty accurate. The maids are represented by different agencies so you can check the database n agencies. Good Luck.

Thanks silverhorse..which agencies were your helpers from? The agencies any good? Notice that certain ones really paint a great picture in the biodata, while some seem more 'realistic' .. Maybe dependent on agency's staff creative writing skills.. Sorry.. I'm the cautious type

[vivienpg]

hi desertwind, I’m a FTWM. son is currently in full day CC and baby girl is taken care by MIL. So she just has to do basic housework most of the time. We did tell her that washing car is the least priority and she can do it just once a week, which we find it ok, as she is free most of the time in the early afternoon. My 6 mth old still wakes up at night but is attended fully by me, she does not have to wake up to attend to her, so I expect her to pay more attention to my son.


She is from Philippines and a college graduate but think she prefers to think more of herself. She just questioned me today under the new EMployment Agencies act ‘Fees charged to workers should not be more than one month’s worth of salary per year for the duration of the approved work pass or employment contract, whichever is shorter. This is subject to a maximum of two months’ worth of salary.’ So why her loan is a few months, she questioned. Headache, got to ask agency tomorrow…sigh…

[Peace Charlie]

Hi peapot


Guess the benefits r mostly towards the fili whereas indo thinks they could earn more but that was always not the case. Tis new indo guess was quite smart she knows her rights and her language was slightly much better. she can speak n express herself. Hope it goes well this time… changing of maid is really a big headache. n Exams r round the corner need to focus on the kids…thanks every1 4 their advise…

[hquek]

vivienpg:

She is from Philippines and a college graduate but think she prefers to think more of herself. She just questioned me today under the new EMployment Agencies act 'Fees charged to workers should not be more than one month’s worth of salary per year for the duration of the approved work pass or employment contract, whichever is shorter. This is subject to a maximum of two months’ worth of salary.' So why her loan is a few months, she questioned. Headache, got to ask agency tomorrow..sigh..

woah lau...shouldn't she have asked the agency BEFORE she signed on the dotted line? Faced with such question, I would pick up the phone and get her to talk to the agent if she not happy. Piangz...not as if you are making money out of it.

[hquek]

there was a comment that maids in hk have to pay for lodgings if outside. I’m not sure how true that is. I read some of their regulations and recall that employers have to bear cost of lodging (if maid stays outside), and if maids don’t eat at home, employers have to pay $x every day for their meals. So end up, quite good deal.


The only part where it’s different from Sg is that if the contract is terminated, maid must go home within a limited time period - so don’t think they can sit in the agency and wait for another employer.

[Peace Charlie]

Hi Hquek

New maid told me she had to share the hotel room wif her friends and they paid for it as well as meals outside tat’s why she could not save up enough to build a hse back home. moreover her employer will call her back whenever they cld not handle their own child… funny… tat is as good as not giving them off day… guess HKees paid for the lodging n meals for the fili becos they noe how to bargain n for those who do not noe the rules get eaten by the emplyers:(…duno how true… can only listen to half of their stories.

[LOLMum]

LOLMum:

middle income families, unfortunately, do live in very small flats (most cant even afford to buy private flats). but as both need to work, die die must get maid to look after kids especially during the school holidays (july - aug) and the many half terms..


so either the employers rent a room for maid to stay elsewhere or the maids pooled together the $$$ (employers usually pay an agreement portion while the maids come up with the rest themselves) and get an apartment to share.
i am unsure if this is allow in hk but the govt probably closed both eyes because the housing issue in hk is really really really bad and the govt knows it very well.

usually it is very easy for maids to find new job quickly cos dd is high.