Most maids are happy with working in Singapore
- The Straits Times (05 February 2011): Most maids are happy with working in Singapore
- The Straits Times (27 January 2011): Why more Indonesian maids fall; Blame poor employers, no off day
Most maids are happy with working in Singapore
- The Straits Times, 05 February 2011
The claims in the letter by Mr John Gee do not accurately reflect the employment conditions of foreign domestic workers (FDWs) in Singapore.
2. It is overly simplistic to conclude that FDWs fell from height because they try to escape their employers’ homes or commit suicide because they do not have a weekly rest day. There are many causes of high-rise falls. In 2010, the vast majority of FDWs fell as a result of work accidents, rather than due to suicides or attempted escapes from their employers.
3. Mr Gee’s assertion that FDW suicides are due to the lack of rest days is also highly tenuous. Suicides, whether by FDWs or local residents, occur for a multitude of reasons such as personal or family difficulties. Among FDWs who committed suicide, many also enjoyed rest days. In fact, all local residents have rest days. Yet, the suicide rate per 100,000 local residents is higher than that for FDWs. Based on MOM’s interviews with FDWs in 2010, FDWs in general were satisfied with working in Singapore.
4. Over the past few years, MOM has taken various steps to improve the employment conditions and ensure the well-being of FDWs. These include a compulsory orientation course for first-time employers, a safety-awareness course (focused on high-rise falls) for first-time FDWs in their native language, and a dedicated FDW hotline for FDWs who are in distress. The Ministry also conducts random interviews with first-time FDWs, to ensure they are being treated fairly and are adjusting well. These measures have been effective in bringing down the annual number of FDW fatalities per 100,000 FDWs by 30% since 2007.
5. Workers facing difficulties at work are encouraged to approach MOM for assistance.
Why more Indonesian maids fall; Blame poor employers, no off day
- The Straits Times, 27 January 2011
The report ('Maid agencies, bosses can help prevent high-rise falls'; Monday) noted that two in three maids treated at Tan Tock Seng Hospital following high-impact falls were Indonesians.
It was suggested that as they came from villages, they were unaware of the dangers of working in high-rise buildings.
Our experience is that more than 95 per cent of maids who died from such falls were Indonesians. Filipino maids also come from villages, but few suffer such falls.
We also found that large numbers of Indonesians were employed in high-rise flats in Hong Kong and they were also mostly from villages. However, the death rate from falls there is significantly lower than that in Singapore.
Our conclusion: A significant number of the maids fell because they were trying to escape their employers' homes or commit suicide as they could not endure the working conditions.
More Indonesian maids than Filipinas work for employers who wish to pay as little as possible. These owners are more likely to be under financial stress, which is sometimes reflected in their treatment of their maids.
The difference between the record of falls in Hong Kong and Singapore might be largely ascribed to one factor. In Hong Kong, maids have a regular day off by law whereas in Singapore, there is no such legal entitlement.
We reckon that half the Indonesian maids here still do not have days off.
Workers who can regularly seek advice and leave their employers generally would not climb out of windows or throw themselves to their deaths.
The Manpower Ministry has made a concerted and consistent effort since 2004 to prevent accidental high-rise falls of maids, with some success.
A more substantial reduction might be achieved by introducing a mandatory weekly day off for maids and the enforcement of law against involuntary confinement, which ought to apply to employers or agents who lock their workers in their residences or premises owned by them.