Advise on Baby & Maid Exps

Liana - you are soo soo right! I kinda of sick of reading articles that fights for the maids' rights blar blar..but still I want to read what they want to report about! Would you have the time to shoot back to the forum and comment abt it? Hee...cos you do write so well!! Or Nellu - want to pick this up to fight for us? :p

Sorry for the arrowing ah...If no time, really doesnt matter...But I am just so disgusted over the recent reports on how employers treat the maids - i dont see the real light in it!
 


Today's my paper..on threating maids well.. Maid-in-S'pore abuse? Blow the whistle..

Aiyo, after reading that post..where to find such nice maid now aday? So dont compare...If I get so good maid,of course,treat like family..cos now,lousy maid,already treat her so well till take advantages,in return cause me so much rubbish..I wonder who is the person that wrote those article,think they never get lousy maid before..

Think we employer, must stand out, tell them what we are facing,not we are bad to maid..actually we are victims le... just too bad,my English broken or sure I arrowing them till jia-jialat. Really bua tahan..the more I think the more anger I have.
 
Nellu,Liana, thanks for concern..

San, not sure if they(HK & TWN) need to buy insurance/pay bond by their govt there..

So Sin, any problems from our maid..agent siam,govt siam,who kena..we employer la...

Imagine, I told my maid that agent actually told me off,because of her,and agent tell me to get maid from another agent,they dont have bio..and I told this to my maid,I cant believe she dont have any expression, dont even feel sorry for me le,not her business..now I'm like so stress to find a replacement asap.

See what maid can help us or give more problems..waste money,waste time,waste everythings...STRESS..
 
Wah... Jo, your agent took your agency fee and now happily tell you to go away. Report them to MOM lah. It's because of all these stupid agent that is cauing us even more headache when maid don't work out, and making the maid lagi more proud and not scared of us, thinking they are very marketable here.

My maid yesterday also kena scolding from my hub. We place those non slip mat in our toilet to avoid our kids from slipping and told her that once in a while, must take out and wash. We din even tell her to wash every week. But yesterday, my hub has the habit of rinsing the toilet floor while he shower, saw alot of dirt coming out underneath and when he flipped up the mat, it was so gross that he spend another 15 mins cleaning the mat himself. He was telling me cakes and cakes of slimmy stuff dropped down. YUCKS!!!

When my hub ask the maid, she still lie and said "yes, I wash the top and flipped the bottom up to wash" Then my hub stare at her hard and ask her again if she is sure. Then she start to stammer and said "no, I din wash". So kena butter kaya by my hub. Sigh...

About those articles, I really don't want to read too much. In the first place, they always place articles about very good or super maid, if not, maid that kena abuse or ill treated. But I wonder if they are going to do a survey of like 100-200 families who have maids and see who are the one really suffering. the maid or the employer. What's the reason for us employer who keep changing maid? We got too much money and time? We got nothing better to do? Sigh...
 
jo

i was wondering if hk/twn government charge employers for maid levy cos if we wont hv to pay levy, then they can talk abt raising maid's salary standards ... if raising salary standards can make them feel justifiable & work better, why not? I believed pay peanuts, get monkeys.

and wondering if hk/twn employers needs to lose security bond when their maid run away cos if theres no financial liability, who wont be willing to let their maids off every week to relax ... we ourselves also dun wanna work 5.5 days a week rite! not to mentioned 7 days a week!!
 
Eileen,
Thanks for posting the article.

Many filipinos and Indonesians dream of working in Taiwan and Hong Kong because of the high pay, but not many of them can find work there. It is the Hong Kong and Taiwanese employers choosing them, not the other way round. The employers there prefer maids who have fair skin and look like Chinese. Those with dark skin don't have to dream about working there. No offense to other dark skin mommies reading this, but this is the reality for the maids. So I think there will always be filipino and Indonesian maids who will come to Singapore to work, because if they stay in their own countries, they probably cannot find any job at all.

Maids earn even lower salary in Malaysia, but they are still going there to work.

But I believe that MOM may change the rules to enforce off days for all maids soon, due to external pressure. Singapore needs to maintain a good image.

Liana,
Totally agree about the maid loan and maid levy.

Actually what I don't understand, is why do singapore agencies need to get their maids from indonesian agencies ? The thing is if an employer know an Indonesian or filipino who wants to work as a maid, the employer can bring her in without going through any agency. Why can't local agencies just go over to those countries and hire directly ?
 
Hi mummies,

My maid received a letter from her local Philippines agency to ask if she is interested in working in HK! I called to complaint to my agent, she hasn't finish her 2 years contract, how can they tempt her!!! Anyway, the agent spoke to her and say if want to go HK then must have 2 years experience and best to have a testimonial from Sgp employer so she better work hard for that. Do keep a lookout on their incmg mail!

Anyway, I heard HK paying maid above S$550 and allows weekend off but most HK employer expect the maid to go out on weekend, rent a bed and spend the day out cos' they wants to enjoy family life and privacy without the maid and also they don't have to pay extra to bring the maid out. The maid will have to spend ard S$50-60 to rent a bed plus the transportation and meal, meaning not much $ to bring home? haa..they better appreciate Sgp employer who bring them out and pay for everything. Somemore in HK, I heard they don't allow trf and the maid will be sent home if employer terminate contracts and there goes their higher placement fee paid to the agency.
 
I read abt the news that fewer maids willing to come to Singapore and is quite unhappy about it.
Who cause all these ?
If the government is willing to cut the levy and the amount given to the maid then we can be assured to have more supply of good maids right?
I intend to write to the forum to air my view.

When my maid first came, she said she wish to go to taiwan to work, imagine a myanmar maid says that and her language skills suck and now she mastered it so well, isnt she using us as a stepping stone and how devoted are they?
 
i am going to write to forum to state my views , anyone want to contribute to it, pls add on..

not happy to read that article!

reason y we cant have quality maid:

1) we need to pay higher levy , if govt can cut down then we can transfer the amount to the maid sure can got supply of quality maid
2) for Hk/taiwan, the maid needs to pay for lodging n food as the employer want privacy so they also need to fork out money in the first place.
3) only singapore pay upfront loan for maid and they use us as stepping stone for working here then once they clear their loan, they can work other country, so best is to scrap the upfront loan and let maid pay the loan themselves first if they want to come here to work.
4) maid in HK/taiwan can have weekly off day as the employer has no $5000 penalty bond to bear if their maid runs away, so can we have the same policy too?
5) did MOM protect us from having bad maids? the same maids can still return to work ..
 
Hi

I know how you mum feel regarding the maid articles...friends also start calling me and say...hey, got to chin chye. maid supply drop etc....really wonder, does it mean that we have to tolerate lower quality maid...sigh...
 
I would really urge all Mummies to write to the ST Forum in your own words. Emma, please send your letter. If no one is willing to stand up for employers in the press then this sort of biased reporting and propaganda will continue to brainwash the unsuspecting maidless public out there.

I have already sent mine. It is as follows:

Further to the ST article below "Fewer Maids Choosing To Work Here" dated April 28, perhaps we should look at the big picture and not make out that higher wages for maids and compulsory days off is entirely the responsibility of employers. Perhaps MOM guidelines need to be addressed and revised as well and proper guidelines set up for maid agents to ensure employers are not ripped off and bio-data is not faked.

Higher Pay for Maids – Abolish the Maid Levy so employers can afford to pay more. This would increase and Indonesian's salary to at least $450 and a Filipina's salary to $520 per month.

Compulsory Days Off – Make maids responsible for their own actions instead of passing this to employers by way of the $5,000 bond. That way, if a maid runs away, gets pregnant etc then the employer does not have to pay for it.

Comparison - Maids who work in Hong Kong and Taiwan do not have the luxury of their employers footing their loans for them. Instead, they pay the fees associated with getting a job in these countries upfront and out of their own pocket. In Singapore, the employer pays this cost for the maid which could amount to $3,000 or more then deducts installment payments from the maid's salary until the loan amount is extinguished. If the maid does not last a month, the employer must forfeit the entire month's loan payment, even if the maid only works a day. If the employer chooses to send the maid back to her own country instead of transferring her to another employer, any outstanding loan amount will not be refunded to the employer.

Furthermore, in Hong Kong and Taiwan, if the maid/employer relationship breaks down, the maid is not permitted to transfer but must return to her own country. I would like to see this in Singapore too, in conjunction with shifting the responsibility of the maid loan to the maid and her lender. This would put a stop to the current practice of "recycling" bad maids.

I'm sure most employers would not mind paying more for a capable and trustworthy maid, but let's make it a level playing field and make it fair for all parties involved. It seems quite clear that the only party benefiting here is the agent.
 
Today my paper, When maids abuse their rights and the employers suffer...by Mdm Sayeeda Ansari

At least something from a employer's view/encounter..

Actually, a lots of victims(employer), just no report/news..

Liana, I have the answer to my previous question..just to share here..

My Say.Do you have anything to get off your chest? Write to us at my paper. Please include your full name, address and telephone contact number. Email your opinions to [email protected]
 
Hey, Liana - Ok, I will try to draft something over the weekend and send over too! I read enough of articles that misrepresent the real truth!

Tamarind - i was thinking abt you last few days! Great to see you around and know that you are not abandoning us!
 
Hi Mummies

Urgently need your comments on this.

This morning, as usual I brought my children and the maid to my MIL's house. My daughter had brought along a container filled with honey star cereals inside it. When we reached there, she opened herself and accidentally it was spilled out. As the cereals are filled with sweetness, my MIL asked my maid to clean up the mess. It was spilled on the sofa and chairs. Then my daughter picked up and put inside the container again but my "stupid" maid go and get a cloth and cleaned the area and wanted to throw away all those that is on the sofa and chair and this is turn made my daughter cry becos she wanted to put back to her container.When she heard my daughter crying, she still purposely wanted to throw away the cereals until my MIL stops her, what is your comment on this? And she just put down and walk away with a fed up face. I had said nothing as I am rushing for work.

Thank you.
 
Eileen,
Hahaha of course I will not abandon mommies in this thread. I recently started on a new job, which is of a different nature from my previous job. I don't have much time during office hours to read the forum nowadays :p

I would encourage employers to write to ST Forum, as well as feedback to MOM at

http://www.mom.gov.sg/publish/momportal/en/header/feedback.html

The feedback sent at this page goes directly to MOM, and they will send you a reply. Previously I sent something to them and they replied that they will consider my suggestions during the next policy review. I think if many employers feedback to them about the same points, they are more likely to do something about it.

Liana,
Very well written ! Look forward to seeing your letter published
happy.gif


About the maid loan, I think MOM cannot do anything about it. It is between the employers and the maid agencies. If every employer refuse to take any maids with maid loan, then the maid agencies will be forced to only bring in maids who have paid up their loans already.

But MOM can certainly disallowed a maid to be transferred. I feel that they should not allow a maid who has worked for one employer for less than 1 year to be transferred.

In Taiwan, if a maid returns to her country for whatever reason, she will also not be allowed to work in Taiwan any more.

But I feel that those who have finished their 2 year contract with one employer, may have good reasons to change employer. Their experience will be valuable to their new employers. However, the most important thing is for new employers to know more about the maid from her previous employers. I think MOM should only allow experienced maids with good written testimonials from their previous employers to return to Singapore to work.
 
Sadwoman - sadly say when comes to such things, the maid doesnt know what to do. If she dont clean and throw, she scared u say its dirty liao cannot give to children. So really its kinda of fix position. When we are her, we can judge ourselves to determine what should be done or what should not be done. But for the maid, she probably dont have the right. So, I can imagine her frustration - therefore the fed up face. Its like "like this cannot, like that also cannot" situation. What I can suggest is for her to ask yr MIL what she should do there and then. Throw away despite the kid's crying or give in to the kid. But my take is that she can nvr show that attitude anymore!!!!

My few cents of opinion for your thots!

Cheers
 
Liana
Very well written. I'm more inclined to invite Minister of Manpower to spend some time reading this thread. If anyone out there rebuke your article....it is time for all mummies here to write in to the forum to support our case. No point complaining among ourselves here sometimes but I cannot denied that this is a good outlet to vent....we must shake the maid industry so that it will be a win-win-win situation for the employer, maid and maid agency.
 
tamarind - i seriously dont think MOM will do anything abt this despite the suggestions or such. It can be covered underneath somehow. I like the idea voicing out to the press though - provided they will pick my views to publish!
 
eileen10,
Yes I also think it is very difficult to make MOM do anything about it. But I think we should do both : voice to the press and feedback to MOM at the same time. If we only voice to the press, MOM can also conveniently ignore what we wrote.

Previously I wrote a letter to ST Forum questioning why my ex-maid had 10 employers, and her WP was still approved so easily. But we employers will have problems if we employ 5 or more maids. No action taken by MOM at all.

precious_one,
Actually I have always been working for the past 15 years
happy.gif
I get extremely insecure if I don't have a job. My previous job was outsourced, that's why I had to look for a new job.

Actually the sad truth is that, not every one who read this thread will understand our problems. Previously there were a few people who never hired maids before, or only had one wonderful maid, then came into this thread and started slamming us for "whining" and treating our maids too badly.

Only those employers who encountered bad maids before can really understand our problems.

I doubt that the higher management in MOM have hired maids before. Or perhaps their wives handled all the maid problems so they cannot understand at all.

Actually even my hubby cannot understand my previous maid problems ! He said that me and my mother are like witches, always complaining about the maid ! Faint...
 
Another writer who has never experienced bad maids ("Today" 29 Apr 08) .. sigh sigh.. =>

"Treat maids the way we treat ourselves

Letter from Justin Tan

I refer to "Two years on, employers still skirt day-off clause" (April 25).
.
It is highly doubtful that the requirements of the employer will not be met if the maid has a day off. Other arguments against giving the maid a day off include the fear of maids engaging in hanky-panky or mixing with wrong company and the insecurity of not knowing what their maids are up to.
.
Such fears are illogical. These maids come here to work. Most come here with debts to repay back in their homeland. They would thus be very clear on their objectives for working here. Allowing them a rest day will not affect these objectives.
.
In any case, it is not the business of the employers to know where their maids go on their days off, with the caveat that the maid's activities do not get her pregnant or disrupt her work with the employer.
.
It is time that maids are given at least one day off. Surely, as employees ourselves, we appreciate it greatly when our employers give us a day off work? Let us be similarly humane in our treatment towards maids. "
 
pinktweet,
That writer is very ignorant, probably never hire a maid before.

There were many maids who simply disappeared and never found again. Some of them went to geylang to become prostitutes. Their employers ended up paying the $5000 bond.

If the maid became pregnant, and the employer may also lose the $5000 bond if the maid is not sent back to her country. Even if the maid is sent home, the employer still must pay for the air ticket. In any case, the employer has to lose money.
 
Liana,
I did not know that they have such a website, you are super good at searching the internet !

While it is true that we can buy insurance to waive the security bond, we still have to pay $250. Then we need to find a new maid and pay new agency fee of up to $600. We are still losing money.

As for having boyfriend, personally I will not keep a maid when I found out that she has boyfriend, this could potentially cause so much trouble. Like that previous case of one filipino maid killed another maid, cut up the body, pack in a bag and threw at Orchard Road, I think is due to boyfriend problem if I remember correctly. Also, what is the maid invites the boyfriend back home ? It is simply too risky. The webpage is too simplistic about boyfriend problem.

That said, I actually do give my current maid off day. I will be giving her off days every alternate week when I renew her work permit in June. My maid is 39 years old and very mature. So I trust her. But then again, a few weeks ago, she got very sick after she came back from her off day. Who knows how she got sick ? She could not eat for 3 days and could not get out of bed. I had to bring her to KKH 24 hour clinic to do a thorough examination and that cost me a lot of $. But she is a very good maid so I am willing to take the risk.

But I totally understand other employers who do not wish to give their maids off day.
 
mummies,
greetings from France! I'm 6 hrs behind you ladies...

wow, see that you are all thick in the action!

i for one can't give the off day, due to my hubby's heavy travelling commitment and lack of parental support for babysitting. I mentioned to my new maid who's coming abt this, she said she understands. I also give her the assurance that if aft 6mths, she proves to be better than my expectation, we can consider working this into the package. Personally, my hubby and I do not mind giving maid off days. I believe we have to exhibit a bit of trust. But it is a gamble, hence we want to do a probation first. Also, as long as the maid is understanding and flexible (sometimes may need to swap the off days or may not be able to give off due to some situations), we would be happy to do this for her.

the problem is alot of the maids do not behave maturely. That is why it is so difficult to trust them...if only we have real hard evidence and statistics to show that this is a very rampant case, i'm sure MOM and other pple like TWC2 would review their own stands...

i'm always agreeable with Liana that it is only when we ourselves encounter the bad maids then we'll know how bad the situation is...
 
The important is to find solution..both employer n employee..how about agent,the one that benefit the most..

My agent told me to pay for transportation to send my maid to airport,if I bring her back to agent before her flight. See..all money paid by employer and I can't help thinking,its so unfair,the maid has own problems n we have to pay..suka suka want to transfer causing employer like owing them a mountain.
 
Just a quick one mummies...
The Editor of the Straits Times Forum called me today. They will be publishing my letter in the next few days after doing some editing.
 
Hi mummies,

Need some advice here..

Can we deduct our maid's salary for the agent fee for getting a replacement maid if they are the one who terminated the contract prematurely? I was advised by my agent that I can do so as this is the practise since it was the maid who broke the contract.

I will be sending my Indon maid home tomorrow morning and I need to finalise her salary tonight. Can I really deduct the agent fee for getting a replacement maid from her salary? I think my agent assumed that I will be getting a replacement maid from her again but there will be an agency fee payable since the replacment period is over. However, I may or may not be getting a replacement maid from her again therefore, would it be right for me to deduct the agent fee from my maid's salary??

Honestly, I feel I should do that to teach my maid a lesson otherwise she thinks that she can suka suka ask for transfer.
 
Another article on giving off day to maids..argh..

April 29, 2008
NGOs campaign for day off for foreign maids
The move is in line with MOM's policy on adequate rest for maids
By Keith Lin


Feedback from employers shows that some continue to worry about the potential negative consequences that come with giving maids time off. -- ST PHOTO: LIM WUI LIANG

THREE civil society groups have joined hands to campaign for foreign domestic workers here to be given a regular day off.
The National Committee for the United Nations Development Fund for Women (Unifem) Singapore, Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) and the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home) on Tuesday launched a year-long publicity campaign, calling on employers to give their maids at least one day off a month.

Their efforts centre around a campaign website which, when launched on May Day, will give advice on how employers can give their maids time off and a list of social activities that such workers can take up on their rest day.

Other activities which will commence later this year include talks with students and community groups, research work, and media advertising.

Speaking at the launch of the Day Off campaign, President of Unifem Singapore Saleemah Ismail said: 'Foreign domestic workers are productive individuals who make an extremely valuable contibution to Singapore society, and like any other person, they deserve a day off.'

Feedback from employers shows that some continue to worry about the potential negative consequences that come with giving maids time off, she said.

Measures to ensure well being of foreign domestic workers in Singapore
The Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) adopts a multi-faceted approach in foreign manpower management and has put in place a set of legislative, administrative, and educational measures to protect the well-being of all foreign workers, including foreign domestic workers (FDWs).

The various measures and initiatives include:
... more
These include the possibility of such workers getting pregnant or them mixing with bad company.

'Through this campaign, we hope to allay these fears and burst the bubbles of myths...so that in time perhaps the campaign will encourage employers to give their domestic worker a day off a week,' Ms Saleemah said.

There are currently around 180,000 foreign domestic workers in Singapore. According to a poll conducted by The Straits Times in 2003, only around half receive a regular day off.

Commenting on the initiative, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said in a statement on Tuesday that it is committed to ensuring that the interests and welfare of all foreign workers, including foreign domestic workers (FDWs), are safeguarded while working in Singapore.

'In this regard, the 'Day Off Campaign' to raise awareness among employers on the importance of a rest day for their FDWs is in line with MOM's effort to ensure that FDWs are accorded adequate rest,' said MOM.

The ministry said a standard employment contract for FDWs was introduced in 2006 by accredited maid agencies in Singapore.

The contract provides for rest days for FDWs, but with an option for the FDW to choose compensation in lieu of taking the day off.

Such contracts provide more flexibility to meet the needs of both parties, said MOM, which has, on its part, encouraged employers to grant FDWs rest days in accordance with the contract.

It added that over the years, many steps have been taken to enhance the protection and support for FDWs.

'As a result of our collective education and enforcement efforts, overall 90 per cent of FDWs are happy working in Singapore, and one in three FDWs choose to extend their two-year contract and continue to work under the same employer,' said MOM.

'The number of reports of abuse has remained very small, at around 0.04 per cent of the total FDW population.'


Latest comments
This NGO is working from the wrong end.
You guys jiak ba jin eng, should help the agrieved employers that are held ransom by the foreign maid levy, threat of heavy fine if our dear sexy maid got pregnant or did the dissappearing act.
If the NGO can get all this penalties removed, we thank you very much and the maids can go F.... around and who cares.
Posted by: opahleo at Wed Apr 30 16:59:33 SGT 2008


I have now resorted to giving my maid bulk leave, ie, 2-3 weeks home leave every year, all expense paid. If she does not go, she gets to pocket the money. So really, what is the big fuss, like #23 has asked? I prefer that she goes home, spends time with her family than getting into trouble going out here.
Posted by: Misnomer at Wed Apr 30 14:05:50 SGT 2008


Maids are supposed to be grown-ups with an acceptable level of maturity by law. I always tactfully warn any newly engaged maids that I will not hesitate to send them home if they commit theft, got pregnant or carried out other illegal activities anywhere. Anyway life is a gamble, any new employees may look innocent at first, that is why we must be cunning enough to sense the bad sheep before the devil takes full shape.
Posted by: Kelly_Ong at Wed Apr 30 14:05:27 SGT 2008


If the maid chose to be paid the extra instead of taking the day off so what
is the BIG FUSS ?
I suggest the people from the 3 NGOs take a ride to Geylang on Sunday
and see for themselves. Many maids and many FTs can be seen booking into
the cheap hotels. What are they doing there ?
Or take the MRT on Sunday you can see for yourself the number of maids
going around with these FTs.
Are they suppose to do such things ?
We give a " FREE HAND " to people to run our country. What happened ?
They allowed a most wanted man to limp away.
Should we again allow a "FREE HAND" to our maid to do whatever they want ?
What would you , the people at the 3 NGOs do, if your maid is one those
standing at Geylang waiting for a room with her FT boyfriend ?
What would you do if one day you come home and find your maid
making love in your bedroom with her boyfriend ?
Posted by: Concernperson at Wed Apr 30 13:56:53 SGT 2008


I give my indonesian maid two choices. Either she can have a day off each week or extra pay-in-lieu for foregoing her off. She prefers to take the money. I believe all employers are matured adults and it is illegal to deny any anybody freedom to enjoy themselves like day-off, especially to our kind maids. If it is mutual agreement between two matured adults in black and white, double standards does not exist at all.
Posted by: Willing_Party at Wed Apr 30 13:44:19 SGT 2008




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Kristen, my current maid, didnt get her salary from her previous employer before transfer to me, her previous employer deduct her salary,cos my maid are the one asking for transfer..

Now I really understand why she(ex employer) do that..

Actually, my current maid not the only maid that asked for transfer..but all this time I didnt deduct maid's salary for that reason..I'm still the one losing money.

I have 6maids, 3asked for transfer..reason...
1st..dont like my hse 2small,like jail,no garden and dont like child care(agent lied on her biodata..takecare of children but actual never before).

2nd..(direct hire)used me as stepping stone,to come here and wait for her boyfriend in USA to apply permit for her to go USA..so looking for ang moh employer..

3rd..current maid..her own problems.

See really unfair for me,their problems..I have to pay..not only money..etc..

Any mummies have any ideal, we can do that..instead we pay..make maid responsible for their decision.
 
Jo,

Yeah, I know what you mean. Actually, I really feel like deducting her salary for the agent fee plus the airticket. However, if I deduct for both, she would be left with peanuts to bring home. Therefore, I am willing to pay for her air-ticket but make her pay for my agent fee for the replacement maid. If not, they take us for a ride thinking that they can do what they want.

My this maid even asked me to help her contact her ex-employer to check with them if they can take her back!! Wah, who she thinks she is??!! She fired me and still got the cheek to ask me to contact agent and get the ex-employer number for her!
 
Kristen, ur maid did what my maid do..same trick, only i tot she appreciate n hired her but u can see what happen to me..now only 3mth, her 1st 2mths loan(transfer fees)..only have 1mth salary..n plan to send her straight home..she also no money.yet my maid don't think for herself,not that I abuse her..so they are not here to work for money but something else. Employer 'chiam lor'.. victims.
 
Kristen, what flight ur maid taking? back to jakarta or other air port in Indo? my maid told be before she dont want Jakarta..cos immigration there will collect extra money from them as they work overseas,I dont know how true.

Ur maid knows she is leaving tomorrow? or she think u transfer her tomorrow? u send her to airport by yourself or agent?
 
Seems like no mummy can advise me on this query...

Jo,

I am putting her on Valuair back to Jakarta. I chose Jakarta becos that was what the contract indicated although the nearest airport for her hometown is Surabaya. I dont care how is she going to make her way to her hometown from Jakarta.

No, I did not tell her that she is going back tomorrow becos she is already mentally prepared that I will send her home from the day she told me that she wanted to transfer. My husband, myself and my FIL will "escort" her to the airport. I am worried that she may do crazy things therefore I asked my FIL along.

This maid of mine does not come from a poor family. Today I found out from one of the note books that she scribbed that her husband actually told her need not come to SG to work again as he is able to afford for their living by working in Malaysia. Also during one of our converesations, she mentioned to me that if her ex-employer is not taking her back then she wants to go home. So, you see she is not poor at all and she is not hard up for the job here.
 
Ur current maid work for u for how many mth? From sun employment?

Written in the contract, we employer have to pay to send maid home, but my agent also told me that the maid should pay,that's why we keep her salary $300-$500 initial after the finish loan..which for their tickets if they didnt finish contract.

I still can't find suitable maid,I still have 1 free replacement from my agent,yet they said no new biodata.

I think maybe deduct air ticket.
 
Kristen-mum,
Personally, I do not think you should deduct your maid's salary for the agency fees as contractually this cost is between you and the agent. The offer and acceptance is as follows: you pay a fee to the agent to provide you with a maid. The agent provides you with a maid - regardless if that maid is useless and that's the end of it.

However, I do believe the airfare can be deducted since it is your maid that has broken the terms of the contract. BUT you need to check your contract. What does it say with regard to repatriation. Does it say the employer must bear the cost of repratriation even if the maid is the one that does not finish her contract? Also bear in mind the MOM guideline that states it is the employer's responsibility to send the maid back.

In reality, you can deduct her salary for both fee and airfare if you want. Once she passes through immigration there is no turning back for her. So, if this is what you want to do just deduct and place the rest in an envelope and pass it to her as she goes through the door to immigration. By the time she opens it, she is already inside and can't come out. If she really wants to recover from you she has to take you to court in SGP.

Disclaimer: I'm not saying this is what you should do lah
 
Pink Tweet - thanks for sharing that article. I read until i got hot abt it. What crap this writer is talking abt!

Quote - "Such fears are illogical. These maids come here to work. Most come here with debts to repay back in their homeland. They would thus be very clear on their objectives for working here. Allowing them a rest day will not affect these objectives." - Unquote

Ya right, clear on their objectives!!! He just havent met a maid who will throw tantrums at home and not wanting to do work!!! What objectives these maids have! Ya right, got rest day and have fun, then back from off day, act bak-bodoh and this forgets that forgets...when comes to food - happily enjoying her meal taking her own sweet time and the employer had to look after the screaming kids. The maid??? Oh, act deaf lor!! argh!

Quote - "In any case, it is not the business of the employers to know where their maids go on their days off, with the caveat that the maid's activities do not get her pregnant or disrupt her work with the employer. - Unquote.

Again ya right, when the maid disappear and cant be found, who gets to pay the $5K bond? Some even have regular "customers" on their off day so that they can earn extra money! If unprotected sex is practiced, who really suffer? Not the maid nor the "customer" - its the employers!
 
finally I am going to have a first maid who will pass the 6 mths probation...My current maid in June will complete her first 6 mths of employment (qt an achievement for me haha) and that will mean she will have her once a mth off day soon. She has her SIL in SGP and her sister who is coincidently working in the same block as me!

I just found out that her sister is throwing notes downstairs to her when my maid bring my younger son to pick my older boy after childcare. I am not happy abt it - cos some days god knows, her sister may be throwing currency notes down!!! I told my maid I am not happy and hope that will nvr happen again.

I asked abt the contents of the notes and got to find out the following:

The sister's employer given her sister a v gd life - no need to cook, no need to wash clothes. Just look after, feed a 16 mths baby and normal cleaning. The Mam seemed not working at all. The employer allows her to have handphone to send sms. Then somemore pay = S$ 400!!!

I really sian abt this...although my maid claim that she will not make comparisons over this, I am just not comfortable abt the whole thing.

My maid is paid $320 a mth, $20 for her off day if she dont consume. I thot of giving her $20 more as her increment after her probation - to make her basic pay $340. But compared to the $400, and the work the sister does, I really scared the sister will influence her to change employer.

Why some employers just want to spoilt market like that!!!
 
hi mummies
Spoke to MIL's indo maid ytd. Her contract is due to end next year. Just casually asked if she's going home after this contract. She said don't know but she said her hubby forbid her to go Taiwan. So I asked her, didn't you have to pay your own loan to get there, she said yes, Rp3 million and for Taiwan, the contract is 3 years. But she said they don't have to pay upfront loan if they go Hong Kong????Right or not?
 
hi mummies,

any mummy here installs cctv at home to monitor maid?

i suspect my maid use my personal stuffs at home when we are not around esp during weekend. hence, wanted to install a camera to check on her.

where to buy a cheap cctv?

thanks much.
 
hi eileen10

I really heard of employers who pays tat much for a maid whose very experience & responsible for childcare! Tats becos the maid is really this good without supervision & employer trust her. Maybe they tot its better than sending to childcare or home nannies loh. I know of one PH maid whose paid $600 a mth to care for sick old folks tats becos its cheaper to hire a private nurse.

However, maybe yr maid jus wanna put on a 2-face to tell u shes not comparing but in fact hinting you ... then again hor, she may be lying loh. I would be so thick-skin to befriend her employer jus to ask her abt her salary to shut my maid up! kekekkee

Like my maid can argue with me that her "fren" whose an inexperience maid is paid $350 with sundays off!! Although im inexperience & first time maid employer, im not stoopid loh ... im sure she din know such informative forum like this one exist!

I regretted direct hiring this maid of mine mainly becos she must work under supervision. We are prepared to send her back if we can find someone better than her but aiya how we know when we struck lottery leh .... dilema ... now im asking around to see whose got a good maid & no longer need her anymore.

Very recently I found one such good maid who works for a fren of mine but shes indo-muslim & ive got 2 dogs ... unfortunately for me, but fortunately for my brother who "grab" her without interviewing!! My fren highly recommends her for childcare & she can cook a decent chinese meal for the family, only housechores not tat well done. For a "responsible/talk less works more/trouble-free" maid with 3yrs experience in sgp, shes paid $310 with one sunday off per mth. My lazy inexperience ph maid paid $320 with every sundays off! My brother worried abt them comparing so hes prepared to pay this indo maid more with one sunday off (after 6mths probation) so that she wont be affected by my lazy maid's package.

And guess wat, my maid look very stress when i was discussing with my brother abt the maid's package ... she even "reminded" me tat she knows this maid cant cook cos they've met & chat before ... then i tell my maid that not this maid cant cook, jus tat she dun hv to cook often cos everyday eat at my fren's MIL place.
 
oh now tt previous_one mentioned, i went to chk it out! It's great!! Now let's see what's the relevant org gonna reply!!
 


hi Liana
i read ur article this morning on Straits Times.
thumbs up for ur write out. awaiting their reply. if anyone sees it in the next few days, pls let us know. thanks
 

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