All About Full-Time Maids
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LOLMum:
I can see problem coming soon. First they asked for PR status and now they ask for rise in minimum wage.Maids to protest if $4,000 wage not met
Diana Lee (The Standard)
Monday, May 23, 2011
Leaders of eight associations warned yesterday they will escalate their protests if the minimum wage of domestic helpers is not increased from HK$3,580 to \"at least HK$4,000.\"
The Asian Migrants' Coordinating Body, comprising unions of domestic helpers from the Philippines, Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand and Sri Lanka, said it will begin a campaign to collect at least 50,000 signatures from the more than 250,000 helpers in the city.
The body will also stage a protest outside the Executive Council on June 1, the opening day of the 100th session of the International Labor Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, where some of its representatives will speak about the situation in Hong Kong.
Before the government's annual wage review for domestic helpers can be completed - which is expected in August - the group will mobilize thousands of members to join the annual July 1 rally organized by the pan- democrats.
This will be followed by a massive protest on July 24 by the group to re- enforce its demand.
The group said the wage increase for domestic helpers is moving \"at a snail's pace\" when compared to the economic recovery and inflation rate.
\"It's high time the government gives us a real wage increase,\" said Eni Lestari, a spokeswoman for the group.
\"We are geared to fight to get an okay to our HK$4,000 demand. Enough of the feel-good and pathetic wage hikes. We need a genuine wage increase.\"
She added the cost of food and other necessities has increased 4.6 percent, making it hard for foreign domestic helpers to make ends meet.
Lestari said they will not rule out seeking a judicial review as they are excluded from the statutory minimum wage of HK$28 per hour.
Joseph Law, chairman of the Hong Kong Employers of Overseas Domestic Helpers Association, maintained an increase in wages to HK$4,000 would result in some employers refusing to rehire domestic helpers when their contracts expire.
\"Our survey supports a wage increase of about 2.8 percent, after considering the wage increase for Hongkongers in general is between 1.5 percent and 3.3 percent,\" Law said.
This pattern will be duplicated here if it's successful in HK. Now, they're asking for more dayoffs per week. Next will be dayoff for holidays, rise in minimum wage, PR status etc and all will be supported by NGOs, the Archbishop, foreign news and reporters, our Ministers here
:stompfeet: -
my earlier post was a report in may.
below is the latest.
the only good thing in singapore is you dont have all these protests, strike etc.
東方日報
2011年11月28日(一)
外傭求加薪至每月四千蚊
【本報訊】通脹升溫加上港元匯率下跌，在港工作的外傭亦叫苦連天！約三十名外傭昨到中環滙豐銀行總部外集會要求加薪，他們舉起印有「4K is OK」（四千元是可以的）的橫額，要求將目前規定月薪三千七百六十元調高至四千元，並手持印有不同訴求的大拇指，希望所有訴求均可實現。團體計劃於下月十八日的國際外傭日發起遊行表達訴求。
擬12月18日遊行
政府早前宣布外傭今年加薪一百六十元，但來港工作十二年的泰傭Wattana批評加幅過低，難以抵銷通脹升幅。她指在港每月生活最少花費過千元，其餘則兌成泰銖匯返泰國給家人使用，不過港元匯率不斷下跌，由一兌五跌至約一兌三、四，變相令收入減少，她希望政府平等對待外傭，讓外傭獲得一般外國人來港工作的待遇。
由多個外傭團體組成的亞洲移居人士聯盟計劃下月十八日國際外傭日發起遊行，由維多利亞公園遊行到新政府總部，表達加薪及爭取居港權等訴求，預計有二千人參加。 -
This time around don’t think the maids will get much support from pan-democratic politicians. These politicians learned their lessons the hard way in the the last election as they helped the maids win the rights to apply for PR status. This was one of the major reasons they lost support from the HK people.
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24hr-mum:
Totally agreed. For the last few maids, I never gave them such kind of house rules except a list of guidelines regarding hygiene, how to handle kids and household chores. I never put out rules like \"never take pics in the house\", \"don't post comments about us on the internet\" etc as I've never expected they would do such things till now. Things we assume are common sense are certainly not common to them. Looks like now i really need to think of as many rules as possible as it's crystal clear now mine is not a sensible and trustworthy maid.re spelling out rules, how extensive and exhaustive can the employers make the list?? some times we dont spell out becos we DIDNT EXPECT maids to do certain (silly) things. i have never spelled out much rules to my ex-maid esp re FB cos we when employ her FB wasnt so popular then. she didnt hv a FB phone at that time too. many things i nvr spell out (eg cant reveal ur bosom, cant b close to SIR, nvr ask Sir where he works, dont take photos of our hse etc） but she knows and never do them cos she was a SENSIBLE maid.
does our boss spells out everything to us in black n white??
of cos its good to spell the rules out if u can, but it can never be foolproof. -
today’s news on more aussies choosing spore to move to – no wonder we are losing our maids to these expats…
anyway, minnie2004, if u ever want to list out ur hse rules, u may want to list these special rules in ur HANDBOOK FOR FDWs (inspired after reading this thread):
No sexy clothings
No revealing bosoms
No hot shorts, Gstrings, booster bras,
No usg of hps with FB
No asking abt Sir’s whereabouts
No comparison of pay and benefits wf other maids
No interruption or participation in family discussions
No taking of photos of my family or house, and of couse, no posting them anywhere
No dumping of own panties into washing machine (esp blood stained ones)
No getting close to Sir
No giving of our house telephone number to anyone else
No acting as loanshark to fellow maids (this happend to my insurance agt’s maid, she was a loanshark)
No casting of spells
etc. anythg else to add?
but sometimes i wonder if the maid is still willg to work for u if u spelt out so crystal clear… -
and u can make the maid SIGN on the house rules, to make it more legalistic-like. to show that u are serious??
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also this:
No sharpening of knives using my stainless steel sink (that’s what my ex maid did. maybe its in their culture)
No putting of oil into the rice cooker when cooking rice (that’s what my ex maid did, to make it easier to wash the rice cooker, but then my DH doesnt like cos he thinks the oil makes us fatter) -
too many rules for the maid and the one who suffers in the end is the poor child.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwc7BJooJdE -
24hr-mum:
No using of hp with FB? You mean not even during her rest hours?today's news on more aussies choosing spore to move to -- no wonder we are losing our maids to these expats.....
anyway, minnie2004, if u ever want to list out ur hse rules, u may want to list these special rules in ur HANDBOOK FOR FDWs (inspired after reading this thread):
No sexy clothings
No revealing bosoms
No hot shorts, Gstrings, booster bras,
No usg of hps with FB
No asking abt Sir's whereabouts
No comparison of pay and benefits wf other maids
No interruption or participation in family discussions
No taking of photos of my family or house, and of couse, no posting them anywhere
No dumping of own panties into washing machine (esp blood stained ones)
No getting close to Sir
No giving of our house telephone number to anyone else
No acting as loanshark to fellow maids (this happend to my insurance agt's maid, she was a loanshark)
No casting of spells
etc. anythg else to add?
but sometimes i wonder if the maid is still willg to work for u if u spelt out so crystal clear...
No comparison of pay and benefits with other maids? Can you control?
No giving of our house telephone number to anyone else? You mean not even to her family members for emergency call?
OMG
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those rules are for very strict employers. its just examples. not everyone has the same rules in mind. some for instance dont mind washing underwear in washg mach but some mind.
as with all rules, the maid can always dont follow.
perhaps employers with maids who hv FB phones can share their experience. my experience is that once they hv FB its hard to control that addiction. yes they may use them only at nite, but then they will stay up so late at nite eg 1pm, that the next day they so tired, tend to grumble and shout at kids.
and since they hv own hp, why need to gv our hse number to their family ??
and then u may start to become their receptionist?
of cos, if the maid is a sensible one, in the first place, the maid can ctl their hp usage, sleep not too late, wont abuse their freedoom etc. but how many sensible ones are there??
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