The Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (HOME) has denounced interpretations of a recent study it participated in that claim six out of 10 foreign domestic workers in Singapore are exploited by their employers.
HOME, in partnership with Anja Wessels of the independent research consultancy Research Across Borders (RAB), had launched a survey on the treatment of maids in Singapore. Last month, RAB published a report based on the study claiming that of 735 Filipino and Indonesian respondents, 60% identified themselves as exploited.
However, HOME said it had disagreements with Wessels regarding the interpretation of some of the indicators in the study, The Straits Times reported.
HOME also disagreed that Filipino domestic workers were more vulnerable to exploitation than Indonesians.
Wessels, a German native based in Sydney, left the project in October because of the disagreements. However, on November 26, RAB published the study’s findings without HOME’s permission.
On December 1, the Singapore Ministry of Manpower said the study painted a misleading picture as it did not consider the “unique nature” of domestic work. It also claimed maids were satisfied working in Singapore.
HOME said it would present another report early in the new year after re-analyzing the data in the study.
Read: Study showing exploitation of maids is misleading: government