Maid to get weekly rest days

[Power Puff]

[quote=\"gajidouma\"]


Maids are overworked, ha! All maids? Are you sure? Everyday when I came home from work late at night with no OT pay, my maid (Thank God, that's my ex-maid) greeted me wearing facial mask she made for herself and looked far more energetic than me.

:rotflmao:

My maid does not have that kind of luxury at the moment coz I'm on leave and watching her like a hawk. After dinner I take care of my kids. We don't disturb her sleep coz we want her to rest and be alert the next day. But when I return to work...dunno how I can remain alert the whole day and continue the night watch routine :faint:

[1amber]

Power Puff:

gajidouma:

Maids are overworked, ha! All maids? Are you sure? Everyday when I came home from work late at night with no OT pay, my maid (Thank God, that's my ex-maid) greeted me wearing facial mask she made for herself and looked far more energetic than me.

:rotflmao:

My maid does not have that kind of luxury at the moment coz I'm on leave and watching her like a hawk. After dinner I take care of my kids. We don't disturb her sleep coz we want her to rest and be alert the next day. But when I return to work...dunno how I can remain alert the whole day and continue the night watch routine :faint:

When you are on leave you watch her like a hawk...when you go back to work she will turn into a wild swan.

[icemochi]

[quote="gajidouma"]

good breakdown of the costs of a maid.

sunday is typical the day the employer gets have a feel if the maid is worth all these additional costs.

now that MOM is taking away this day, employer will be harder to trust the maid. the maid gain a day off but is very difficult to win the warmth of the employer’s family.

Hongkong has just a law and people did adapt to it. But mostly is a very cold employer-maid relationship. Sg might just develop to that.

[Peace Charlie]

i agreed with u ice mochi…weekdays the helper does nothing but laze aron u wont know if they clean the hse for u…only weekends then they show u how hardworking they r…

[auntieM]

Guess some places will be more crowded on weekends next year .. ...

:roll:

[verykiasu2010]

FDW employers have too much 'power'

Letter from Edmund Pooh 04:45 AM Mar 10, 2012


Singapore has long been seen as the \"training ground\" for first-time foreign domestic workers (FDWs) to gain working experience. When the employment contract ends in two years, they would usually leave for greener pastures.

This could be because FDWs are not given the basic labour right to choose their ideal employer through the option of a transfer when their contract ends.

I applaud the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for the necessary, long overdue move to make our country competitive, with the mandatory weekly day off.

But the MOM could further enhance Singapore's competitiveness: Should the FDW not be comfortable working for her employer, she should be allowed to submit a termination letter with at least one month's notice.

During the notice period, the FDW should be allowed to look for a new employer, even without a letter of consent from her current employer, since she would have already given a written intention to change employer.

The MOM does not allow for this now because the current employer has too much \"power\".

This is further evident in my encounters as an employment agency boss with several FDWs who were seeking a transfer and had an employer lined up, a signed letter of consent from her current employer as well as an In-Principal of Approval (IPA) letter from the MOM.

The transfers were denied in the end because the current employer still had the legal right, according to the MOM, to cancel the FDW's work permit and repatriate her.

But why allow this to happen when the FDW has an IPA and a new employer willing to take over the responsibility immediately?

If a mandatory weekly day off would make us more competitive, as mentioned by Minister of State (Manpower) Tan Chuan-Jin, then legislating another basic labour right for FDWs would surely make us even more competitive.

http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC120310-0000020/FDW-employers-have-too-much-power

and read all the exchanges there .....

the industry seems to be \"controlled\" by a few agencies with strong lobby....just need to talk to some smaller agencies and you will understand why

[hquek]

My reply to Mr Pooh’s letter, if employers didn’t have to pay upfront for maid loans, likely employers are more open to not have that much control over maids. I believe in HK employers don’t pay for their maids loans to go to HK to work.


Also those who disagreed to their maids transferring may be doing the would be employers a service as there may be something bad about the maid that the ex-employer don’t wish to happen to others.

[hquek]

-deleted-

[Power Puff]

MOM is doing a good job. Now the rest of the world can see that Singapore is listening, and respects basic human rights. The fdws have their rights and are being protected. What about our rights and our protection? Do we have any rights at all? Can we scrap the contract/ agreement since it serves no real purpose except for putting in black and white the salary and off days? The security bond should not be borne by employers - rather it should be between the maid agencies and MOM (so that agencies comply with MOM’s laws and standard procedures - aren’t they being regulated by MOM in the first place?), otherwise bond/agreement should be between MOM and fdws themselves. The fdws are NOT BELOW LEGAL AGE…Employers are not their guardians! Since the fdws have chosen to work in a foreign country, they should be accountable for their own actions. Just like we are held responsible if we try to be funny at the work place. The article is today’s New Paper just makes me to wretch. I understand that maids are definitely human beings and need free time…but the things some of them do when employers trust them so much…If the Off Day is to allow fdws to rest…then MOM must do away with monetary compensation altogether. If no off day, then a replacement off day to be given instead. Actually very, very few maids will want off day other than Sunday. PA, all other organisations which conduct self- improvement classes for fdws should start scheduling them on weekdays too, not just Sundays. They have to work with MOM, conduct a survey on households with maids to find out how many maids will be taking which day off and plan suitable activities accordingly. Other organisations which may be tapped on to assist the disabled and elderly should also be on standby throughout the week. If the Govt wants to legislate this weekly off day, it must make it a real success by ensuring that support systems are in place. Please don’t say we are not prepared for the overwhelming implications, that we didn’t expect Lucky Plaza, City Plaza, Peninsular Plaza and surrounding areas to be overcrowded, didn’t expect the budget hotels to be overcrowded, didn’t expect that pregnancy, crimes of passion cases to go up, sharp increase in working mothers not returning to the workforce, etc etc. If not managed carefully, this well-intended policy will become a real joke for the whole world to seen.

[verykiasu2010]

Six ways to make it fairer for employers of maids


THE Government has done much to improve the well-being of maids ('Weekly day off for maids a must from next year'; March 6) and I am gratified that it says it considers employers' concerns as well ('Employers' concerns considered, says MOM'; yesterday).

There is certainly more room for improvement in being fairer to employers, and I have half a dozen suggestions that the Government could introduce in tandem with the start of the weekly day-off ruling for maids from next year.

First, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) should require maid agencies not to extract upfront the thousands of dollars from employers to pay for their maids' loans. Instead, agencies can be reimbursed via monthly deductions of the maids' wages when they start working.

Second, the MOM should counsel maids who seek to change employers after the third transfer within a year. This will help to prevent maids from switching employers too frequently, and allows the Government to review whether such maids are suitable to continue working here.

Third, the agency and the maid should compensate the employer if they provide false biodata or information that causes the employer to suffer monetary loss by hiring an unsuitable maid.

Fourth, if the maid resigns before the contract period is up, she should pay her own airfare back, unless there is a valid reason for the employer to do so.

Fifth, the ministry should provide a website or training for employers who are looking for maids, as well as for maids who have completed their contracts and are looking for new employers, to handle the application process and documentation on their own.

Finally, a maid's work permit should be transferred to the agency once she is returned to it. Employers looking for transfer maids should be given a week to try them out, and pay them directly. The calculation can be based on the agreed maid's monthly salary if she is being employed. This will help the maid to earn some income while waiting for new employment.

At the same time, the maid and employer can assess if they are happy with each other.

Maids today are well-informed and mature enough to be responsible for their own actions.

The rights and responsibilities of maids, employers and agencies should be borne equally and fairly.

Belinda Oo (Miss)


http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_777281.html