Employers’ concerns considered, says MOM
- The Straits Times (13 March 2012) : Employers’ concerns considered, says MOM
- The Straits Times (7 March 2012) : Now, be equally fair to bosses
- The Straits Times (8 March 2012) : Let maids work at other homes on days off
- The Straits Times (9 March 2012) : After liberalising maid rules, legislate flexi-work
- The Straits Times Online (7 March 2012) : Think through weekly day-off policy for maids
- The Straits Times Online (8 March 2012) : Working mums may be forced to stay home
- The Straits Times Online (8 March 2012) : Not true that maid employers pay less
- The Straits Times Online (8 March 2012) : Weekly day off a right move
- The Straits Times Online (9 March 2012) : Help maids adjust to new freedom or face greater horrors
- The Straits Times Online (8 March 2012) : Give maid levy the boot when rest days kick in
- The Straits Times Online (9 March 2012) : Maid may have to do double the work the next day
- The Straits Times Online (9 March 2012) : Well done, but absolve boss from responsibility for maid's rest-day activities
Employers’ concerns considered, says MOM
- The Straits Times, 13 March 2012
Sentiments expressed in recent forum letters to the weekly rest day requirement for foreign domestic workers (FDWs) are largely similar to those that the Ministry encountered during its extensive consultation exercise on the review of the FDW management framework since June 2011. Some of these feedback have been incorporated, including the flexibility of mutually agreeing when the rest day should fall or compensation with a day’s wage.
A few called for a reduction or removal of the levy. The FDW levy serves to moderate the demand for FDWs and ensures that only employers who need and have the financial means to hire an FDW are able to do so. Singapore already has one of the highest number of FDWs per 1000 households in the world. While significantly higher wages would also moderate demand and increase our attractiveness to quality FDWs, it remains unclear that the market-determined wages of all FDWs will in fact adjust proportionately to reductions in the levy. Previous levy reductions did not result in a corresponding rise in wages. Majority of households in Singapore with elderly, young children or disabled members already enjoy a $95 monthly levy concession. Together with the $120 FDW grant for households with frail elderly or persons with severe disabilities, these concessions are more than adequate to cover the rise in costs of compensating an FDW for working on her rest days.
Since January 2010, MOM has already removed employers’ liability if the FDW breaches Work Permit conditions that relate to her own behaviour. MOM does not forfeit employers’ security bonds if the FDW violates her own Work Permit conditions, for instance if she moonlights or gets pregnant. In reality, MOM forfeits very few security bonds each year. We are currently reviewing the employers’ obligations for medical and repatriation costs for exceptional circumstances that they have little or no control over.
Concerns have also been raised about employment terms and the activities of FDWs on their rest days. As with any employment relationship, FDWs do negotiate for better terms, whether they have a rest day or otherwise. Any change must be agreed upon by both employer and FDW. MOM is stepping up audits to ensure employment agencies facilitate better matches between employers and FDWs. MOM is also working closely with various stakeholders to educate FDWs on appropriate behaviour on their rest days, and offer activities to help FDWs spend their rest days productively.
Now, be equally fair to bosses
- The Straits Times, 7 March 2012
Finally, the long-awaited move for a weekly rest day for maids is going to be put in place ('Weekly day off for maids a must from next year'; yesterday).
The change will be welcomed by workers' rights groups, maids and those wishing to include Singapore in the list of preferred countries to work in.
It also edges Singapore closer to Hong Kong and Taiwan, where pay and working conditions are perceivably better currently.
The next step may well be a minimum wage that mirrors the salary structures in Hong Kong and Taiwan. So it remains to be seen whether the Ministry of Manpower will be equally fair to employers.
First, will the Government end the maid levy, which is non-existent in Taiwan and waived in Hong Kong, to allow employers to meet the increasingly higher pay demands of maids and their agencies?
Second, will the ministry drop the security bond requirement as maids will now have more chances to moonlight, maintain intimate relationships or fall into the trap of moneylenders and loan sharks?
The quantum leap in days off may also tempt maids into hunting for better jobs, leaving their employers with the unwelcome prospect of suddenly having to look for replacements.
Third, will there be stronger laws and punitive consequences against agents who mislead employers into hiring maids whose polished biodata do not reflect their actual skills?
Fourth, will the onus of paying for the repatriation of a maid who wants to quit a few weeks into her contract, or the expenses of housing and feeding her for the duration that she is unable to get a transfer, fall on the agent instead of the employer?
The questions I listed are common frustrations many employers face, and an extra day off per week merely increases the likelihood of their occurrence exponentially. So the Government must protect employers adequately as well.
I hope the Government will be equally vigorous in considering employers' needs, along with ensuring the welfare of maids.
Kelly Kishore Mel (Ms)
Let maids work at other homes on days off
- The Straits Times, 8 March 2012
Judging by yesterday's letters, there are Singaporeans who prefer having domestic help seven days a week ('Have policymakers considered the unintended consequences' by Mr Thng Tien Guan; and 'The Government should have consulted families like mine' by Mr Hilarion Goh).
Surely, one solution is to allow maids to work for other households on their days off if they so choose.
It will be a truly willing buyer/willing seller market.
For example, a maid may decide to work for four hours on one of her days off, if someone is willing to pay $50. The following week, she may decide she does not wish to work.
Creating a regulated marketplace to facilitate this should not be too difficult.
Of course, it can be argued that the wide availability of live-in maids, at a price point well below what is considered normal in almost any other place in the developed world, has many undesirable side effects. In fact, in the debate about how to raise the wages of the most disadvantaged sectors of society, the impact of the presence of this army of lowly paid domestic help has been ignored.
Imagine a Singapore with, say, 70 per cent fewer live-in maids.
The cost of part-time domestic help will rise significantly, and with it the supply of people willing to offer these services.
This will provide a very powerful boost to wages at the lower end, and re-create services such as part-time cleaners and child minders that have almost disappeared.
A Singapore where a widow working as a 'Mrs Mop', handling three households a day, five days a week, can earn, say, $2,500 a month (which is still 30 per cent less than in London), will be a far better place.
Michael J. Coleman
After liberalising maid rules, legislate flexi-work
- The Straits Times, 9 March 2012
I congratulate the Government for making it mandatory for maids to have a weekly day off ('Weekly day off for maids a must from next year'; Tuesday).
The Government should now tackle the other elephant in the room: Giving employees a statutory right to ask for flexible work arrangements.
In First World countries Australia, New Zealand and Britain, the right to seek such work arrangements is legislated.
Employees with caring responsibilities have the statutory right to ask for flexible work. Generally, the legislation does not specify gender, which is a plus point as raising children and care-giving are not confined to women.
In Britain, the legislation is couched in a way that does not necessarily compromise businesses. The statutory right applies to the ability to request but not to receive. If there are legitimate business reasons, employers can refuse to grant an employee's request.
The Singapore Government has started to change the mindset about maids. Now, it must tackle flexi-work arrangements which is equally urgent in the face of statistics that tell us that the Manpower Ministry received 110 pregnancy and maternity-related complaints last year, up from 84 in 2010 ('Rise in number of complaints by pregnant workers'; Feb 29). Flexi-work will benefit pregnant women radically.
Lorraine Boon (Ms)
Think through weekly day-off policy for maids
- The Straits Times Online, 7 March 2012
I read with disbelief that the Government has decided that all maids will get a weekly day off from next year ('Weekly day off for maids a must from next year'; yesterday).
It might seem like a fair and simple decision, but have the policymakers considered the unintended consequences?
Let me list a few:
- Impact on the family: This will be severe for families with young children and are caring for disabled elderly members.
Many citizens are heeding the Government's call to have more children and to care for their parents. This is barely possible even with the daily assistance of a maid. While alternative arrangements can be made once a month, the requirement to give maids a weekly day off will tip the scales in overburdening such families. Parents may have to be put in nursing homes, which is an undesirable outcome.
- Hiring a maid: Families will find it harder to employ maids as most will want their days off. While it may be argued that some maids prefer to be paid in lieu of a day off, this is usually true only in the first six months, when they are still paying off their loans through their agencies. Once the loan is settled, most maids will insist on their days off. And they are likely to quit if they do not get their way.
Should this happen every six months, it would be exasperating as it is hard to train maids to take care of toddlers or the elderly.
- Impact on the maids: The problem is not whether maids will use their days off to run away. Rather, the exponential increase in days off may lead them to squander their hard-earned pay instead of saving it to help finance a better life when they return home. The higher risk of promiscuity, extramarital affairs and unintended pregnancies are also possible consequences.
- Impact on society: Many maids gather in big groups along Orchard Road on their days off, and some of these groups can be rowdy. What would be the impact on tourism?
The sudden government decision on having a weekly day off for maids, an important issue affecting families, is disappointing.
Thng Tien Guan
Working mums may be forced to stay home
- The Straits Times Online, 8 March 2012
I AM dismayed by the move to allow maids a weekly day off ('Weekly day off for maids a must from next year'; Tuesday).
Maids are employed primarily to look after the very young and the elderly in today's dual-income society, where both the husband and wife have to work, some for very long hours, to raise a family.
The new policy may force educated working mothers to stay home, or young married couples to opt for keeping pets instead of having children.
As an employer of 20 years, I have had my share of maids and their problems.
Today's maids are different and employers must handle those who are IT-savvy, carry mobile phones and tune in to their iPods while working.
With the chance of a weekly day off, we must ensure they do not bring home their problems.
We know that once a law is implemented, it is most likely to stay. Complaining is not an option.
I hope the Government senses the groundswell of concern among employers about the new policy.
Lee Pai Ping (Madam)
Not true that maid employers pay less
- The Straits Times Online, 8 March 2012
In announcing the new policy giving maids a weekly day off ('Weekly day off for maids a must from next year'; Tuesday), Minister of State for Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin said it will make Singapore a more attractive destination for foreign domestic workers.
While it is true that a maid's pay in Singapore is comparatively lower, the actual cost to the employer is relatively the same as for those in Hong Kong and Taiwan, because of the maid levy.
The maid levy, at a monthly $265, works out to more than half the maid's salary, although there is a discount for families with young children and disabled seniors.
Many maids are unaware that their employers are bearing an additional cost.
So it may be a trifle ironic to argue that maids find Singapore less attractive because of the absence of a weekly day off.
Audrey Ser (Ms)
Weekly day off a right move
- The Straits Times Online, 8 March 2012
I applaud the Government's move to give a mandatory weekly day off to maids ('Weekly day off for maids a must from next year'; Tuesday).
It is only the right and humane thing to do, as our maids often have to wake up before dawn to prepare breakfast for the household, and are probably the last to sleep at night.
Even machines need a break from work, let alone maids.
When we employed a maid previously, she would return home happier after her day off. The break allowed her to refresh herself, and she was also able to touch base with her friends.
Moreover, employers hiring foreign maids already have the luxury of cheap labour costs because maids are paid much more elsewhere.
Hopefully, employers will support the weekly day-off legislation for maids, enabling a win-win situation for all parties.
Happier maids can only benefit employers, leading to higher productivity.
Gilbert Goh
President
Transitioning - Unemployment Support Services
Help maids adjust to new freedom or face greater horrors
- The Straits Times Online, 9 March 2012
It is well and good that maids will officially be allowed a day off every week ('Weekly day off for maids a must from next year'; Tuesday).
However, I hope that the relevant authorities and organisations which campaigned for the day off will put in place the necessary measures that will help the maids assimilate.
Most maids come from rural villages or small towns and have little exposure to an urban metropolis.
For instance, a maid I hired tried to descale fish in our backyard drain and was clueless about what the refrigerator was for when she arrived.
The maids I have had who have not hitherto been outside their home country have either been cheated by more experienced, crafty fellow maids who they thought they could trust, or harassed by men they claimed not to know.
Singapore is a throbbing metropolis and can be extremely overwhelming with plenty of distractions, opportunities and liberties, particularly for someone who has never known life beyond her kampung.
If freedom is to be given, let us also help the maids to cope with it.
Left to their own devices or their so-called 'friends', more social and personal problems may arise.
Audrey Thng (Ms)
Give maid levy the boot when rest days kick in
- The Straits Times Online, 8 March 2012
Apart from the obligatory weekly day off, Hong Kong and Taiwan are more attractive to maids because of the higher pay ('Weekly day off for maids a must from next year'; Tuesday).
The reason employers there can afford to pay more is that there are no maid levies. The Singapore Government reaps millions of dollars a year from levying maid employers a monthly charge.
If employers must make sacrifices and adjust to the weekly rest day rule the Ministry of Manpower has ordered from next January, the ministry should similarly alleviate the employers' plight by reducing if not eliminating the levy.
James How
Maid may have to do double the work the next day
- The Straits Times Online, 9 March 2012
It is ironic that with the days off for maids, employers with young children and the elderly must now have to work even harder ('Weekly day off for maids a must from next year'; Tuesday).
Otherwise, who will do the chores and look after the children and the elderly when the maids are enjoying their days off?
My annual leave allocation will not increase, so if no one does the chores, it will only mean that the maid will have to do double the amount of work the day after her day off.
Chew Kum Chung
Well done, but absolve boss from responsibility for maid's rest-day activities
- The Straits Times Online, 9 March 2012
The mandated weekly day off for maids is a step in the right direction and ought to be supported by all employers regardless of their need ('Weekly day off for maids a must from next year'; Tuesday).
There is always a reason why one cannot do without a maid, but that need should not result in the forfeiture of the right to have mandated days off.
I wonder if those voluntary organisations, who have campaigned successfully for the mandated days off, also agree that maids must be responsible for their actions during their rest days.
For example, paying for their own repatriation in the event that they get pregnant or for medical treatment for sexually transmitted diseases.
Christopher Teng