Singapore readers, why do your employers treat their foreign domestic helpers so harshly?

Question

You are a modern, civilized , and multi-cultural society so I am shocked at what some of these employers get away with. Yes, I know the employer must pay a tax which is greater than the maid's
salary so there may be some resentment there. One would expect foreign-worker abuse in less-tolerant societies but I believe you guys are better than that.

Don't believe it's that prevalent? Search "singapore domestic workers" and your engine will return article after article of abuse cases.

Answer 1

oh man, i can't agree with you more about the those abuse cases.
yes, i agree that many employers should give these foreign workers more respect, since they have come from a foreign country & have to adapt to new environment.
i have heard both sides of the story though. i have seen both bad maids & bad employers (& their kids)...sometimes, i hope both parties have RESPECT & tolerant for each other.

* there was once, my friend's domestic helper threw her 3 puppy schnausers down the waste chute! why? because, she is a muslim, & didn't want to handle dogs. prior to hiring her, she said it's ok to feed the puppies & walk the dogs. she then lied that the puppies ran off when she opens the door.
to cut a long story short, my friend retrieve her 3 puppies from the chute, 30mins after she found her puppies were lost. luckily she stayed on the 2nd level, & no hard objects were thrown from the other levels into the waste chute.
naturally, the domestic helper were fired.
** i have seen kids bullying their domestic helpers, by punching playfully @ the domestic helper, or commanding them (like servants) to do things. i felt sick @ those parents who didn't teach their children any respect for fellow human beings.

of course, there are many good examples of good domestic helpers & employers too.
this problem has gradually been solved by the maid's agencies in singapore. the domestic helpers will have to undergo certain training to get used to the singapore lifestyle, & will be taught how to seek help from their agency or the police, should abuse problems arise.
as for singaporeans, i really hope that those people who hire domestic helpers will be more graceful. it's not like they have to do EVERYTHING, but getting paid peanuts for it. some employers are morally depleted.
personally, i never ask my domestic helper to do anything for me, not even getting a glass of water. i have hands & legs, i can do it myself. she is there to ease my mum's workload with handling the household chores.

Answer 2

Yes i must agree that they are news of maids abuses from the papers but have you also read those who treated their maids well, just like their own family members?

Sad to say, bad news travel fast and wide most of the time as compared to good and therefore a lot of people got the impression that Singaporeans ill-treat their maids more as compared to other countries. Do you think situation in other Asia countries are much better in Singapore? Even if you have not see or hear anything doesn't mean it never happens.

As people are not perfect, there will never be any perfect employers or maids. There are the snobbish employers, no doubts, and there are the defiant maids too.

Answer 3

Sure, some employers treat their maids horribly, but some maids are horrible and do evil things. Not ALL employers abuse their maids...

You know, you try to find a day in the US that not a single person was shot, injured or killed by another person. And mama leila, by the way you talk, you don't sound much better than the abusive employers.

Answer 4

Maybe ! partly because of the heavy expenses of taxes and bond, the employer have to pay to the government. Therefore, the expectation is there. We have to spent few hundred dollars about S$500(1 time payment for 2 years contract) for the security bond and insurance. Every month, we have to pay from S$200 to S$300 as a foreign worker levy to the government. Thus, you can see the money spend on a maid.

Answer 5

You are guilty of generalising. Why are these cases found in search engines? Because they make the news (without mentioning that they are the exceptions).

There are thousands and thousands of foreign domestic maids working in Singapore. They wouldn't come here if employers treated them harshly -- the news would spread quickly.

Take my household for example. My maid (who is more a housekeeper) has been with us for over 8 years. When asked how long more she would work for us, she said, "As long as you want me to." We have opened a bank account for her into which her salary is paid, she visits the library to borrow books, goes out with friends for shopping, etc. when she has finished her chores. If you want to generalise, then your question would be "Why do Singapore employers treat their foreign domestic helpers so well?"

Now let me generalise and ask you "Why are Americans so gun-crazy and go around shooting each other?" You can read it in the newspapers!

Answer 6

For the record, Singaporeans are not your typical maid abuser. There are many good employers around.
For all you know, that person could also be an expat working in Singapore.
We are just being transparent, honest and critical of ourselves.. Many bad behaviours that was reported in the media are also common among other countries, but not publish that's all. I wouldn't link all bad things/behavours to Singaporeans just because it happened in Singapore.
Even if its a Singaporean who abuses his maid, does that mean all of us are the same? We are probably much better than most other countries that do not report abuses in the media.

Answer 7

i think it all depends on the employer. Some of them treat their maid with no respect at all as if they are damn great.. They treat their maid like slaves.

But there are also who treat their maid very well. I know some people bring their maid to overseas trip and dinners etc..

I know those maid dont deserve such actions by their employers but they are also some maid who abuse the kids they are taking care of.. So its ur luck if u get a good maid or a good employer.

Answer 8

Some actually treat their maids well and go the extra mile.These are rare.One of my Singaporean teachers remarked that SIngapore's neighbours don't like Sporeans and think they are snobs.

But then again,there have been maids who broke their employers' trust, whacked babies, brought unsavoury ppl to the employer's home when the cat was away.There's good and bad

Answer 9

All the news made in the publics are black sheep treating the maids badly. Can't say much about black sheep because evey country will have some.

Alot treat their maids well. I know alot of maids who stay with the employers for more than 5 years by their own decision. Mine included.

Answer 10

"Search "singapore domestic workers" and your engine will return article after article of abuse cases."

really? i just get maid agency after maid agency.

besides, your point of view is entirely stereotypical. i happen to know of many people who treat their domestic helpers pretty well. while i shall not rule out the fact that foreign-worker abuse does happen, it is quite rare. many domestic workers get day offs and their employers treat them relatively well.