Two Singaporean non-governmental organizations have submitted a joint independent report to the United Nations highlighting the unsatisfactory employment terms and working conditions faced by many foreign domestic workers in the city-state due to substandard protection by local laws.
The Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (HOME) and Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) charged that domestic workers were not protected by the Employment Act, Singapore’s main labor law, Lianhe Zaobao (Singapore) reported on the weekend.
At present, there are around 240,000 women from Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar and other countries working as maids in Singapore. As they do not enjoy the same protections under the Employment Act as other types of workers, maids are often exploited by their employers, who force them to work long hours and deny them statutory holidays, annual leave or paid sick leave.
Though the government has mandated one day off a week for maids, many see their rest days canceled, as the authorities also allow employers to pay maids extra to work on their days off. Many women who owe their employment agencies money for job referrals give up their rest days for more wages in the hopes of settling their debts sooner.
According to HOME, many maids who seek assistance from the NGO earn around S$350 to S$650 (US$257-US$477) a month. If they are working more than 13 hours daily, some of them are making less than S$2 an hour.
In addition, at present maids are not permitted to change employers unless their bosses sign an agreement for them. In other words, foreign women are left almost no choices between accepting poor terms of employment or even violence from their bosses, or being sent back to their home countries.
Its correct i ask my mam 2 times already that i want to transfer i cannot cope with amah and its hard for me to handwash every day my hand numb already and work for 2 house but she dont want me to realese i have no choice need to work than to send back in phillipines …what a life
do we need to work on our off day?coz every sunday ones i comeback to the house i need to work if i will not work my boss will tell me the something in the next day.they say 24 hours rest for helpper but we have curfew.
I include myself. I have 4 sundays off but my employer deducted $20 per offday. My salary is only $540- $80(offday) so every month i got only $460.
true, the basic salary and public holidays are not implemented in Singapore as compared to Hongkong
8hours working in a day it’s enough for $550 a monthly, some maid need to work till midnight and they don’t have enough meal everyday.????????????
Same here work 18hours then ones a month day off…
But no choice i need money thats y i follow ol…
Hoping for change to this kind of employers…
Yes is true …..I also work 17hrs .I week up 6 or 6:30 and sleep 11 to 11:30 thats my early sleep.and have 2 off days only in 1month, off days also need to work bfore leave .&when i came back home around 7.pm I also need to cook for them .for me this is not rest day ???????????? there’s a lot off emplovers here ,that they cannot follows the government roll
Mary Grace Patenio Batis yah,,,but my boss want to employ me again he increase my salary and give me proper off day sis… thanks God.
Yes and one the employer should gve long service for the maid while they working with them many year compulsory
My problem is i have to settle the 3dogs( feeding and walk them in the morning and administer medicines) before i can go out for my off days.During the evening when i come back home i still need to wash all the dishes and tidy up the kitchen & administer medicines I am serving including my Employer’s Friend whose living with us.For i know i am not supposed to do work during sundays coz it is my off days and i am not paid during sundays.I wish to go off as early as i could but i can’t because i need to settle the dogs first.i wanted to sleep more during sundays since it is my off days but i can’t coz the dogs are waiting for me.And my employer always give my salary too late like 10-20days late. I told my Employer i don’t want to do work for her Friend but she says i must. I already talked to her regarding my feelings coz as the saying goes " we cannot serve 2 masters at the same time".But she insisted me to do work with her Friends too.( like cleaning her room, washing and ironing her clothes, tidy up her mess in the kitchen. My food allowance is $200 per month but my Employer just give me $150 per month and ask her Friend to add $50 for a total of $200. So sad but the reality is many employers are taking for granted for our feelings and needs.
I hope MOM will cut the policy ( NO RELEASE PAPER NO TRANSFER )
Singapore should all know this…why they cant make the salary high same as hk and taiwan?…and one thing more,its better to give food allowance monthly than they tell you that you can eat with them.but the truth the food they give is not enough…
Yaaa. Its true and really happening to me…before I go out .. I must. Cook… Worse is I go out for of day 2 pm already… I go back ..car washing… And it was 9:30 pm…
Because even though we finished contract we can not find new employer if the current employer will not give or sign q release paper
The release paper should be demolished
It’s true my employer want me to work first before i go out and work again after i came back frim off day and then if the maid wanted to change employer the employer always threating the helper to send back home or suddenly they cut the wp without the helper’s knowledge
Not for me….
I just hv one day a month of off day and my salary just S$520…
And i working from 7am until 11pm….
I hope Singapore government know about this…. And for agency don’t take advantage of us and then let go of hands and side with the employer…
We’re not slave…. We just worker and we hv heart and limit power….
We are not robot… So please be respect
I work Singapore for 11 yrs….i get off day every sunday en public holiday coz my boss say u need to rest en spend time wit ur relatives she said…..now im in hk is the same every week off en public holiday
Some of singaporean are not following the contracts..
Like my boss here..
1 sunday off and did not pay the rest sunday..
Then 13 hrs work..
Time to upgrade the salary and
They must follow if what in the contracts said…
Hopefully..
Especialy employer that let the maid work in relative house when they are out of country and giving an additional work like cleaning car frm employer to relative.working for almost 15 hours 2 off days only no holiday of no holiday payment.even labor day cant take off and not holding ure own passport.at of days come home to work.Some agency dont care also if u ask for help aslong as they rcve their payment they dont care about the fdw already