Hard News (Print) -Changed we have maid

Changes we have maid

By Saratini Shahidi  

Foreigner in the family: Living in the same roof and eating at the same table, foreign domestic workers have been part of the family for some Singaporeans.  

Underpayment, verbal and physical abuse, and ill-treatment, have been things of the past for some foreign domestic workers.

The status of maids in Singapore has changed through time. Cases of maid abuse have decreased significantly from 157 in 1997 to 53 in 2008.

There are many contributing factors that led to this phenomenon.

As Singapore progresses, the attitude of Singaporeans towards foreign domestic workers has changed. Singaporeans has been more dependent on foreign domestic workers.

In the 1980’s, there were only about 20,000 maids in Singapore, this number has increased eight times to 160,000 in 2009.

As Singaporeans strive to cope with the rising cost of living, foreign domestic workers were seen as an indispensable member of the society and family. Women who traditionally stay at home are now also venturing the workforce to help with their family’s expenses.

“Cost of living in Singapore is high, both parents needs to be out working to support the needs of the family, then who is going to take care of the children?” said Mr Chan, manager of CnC Maid Agencies.

Madam Wee, 50, a sales coordinator hired a domestic worker, Nita, to take care of her paraplegic mother who had an accident three years ago. As a working mother, she hopes that by hiring Nita, she will be able to go to work without worrying about the household chores and her mother being left unattended.

“Life will face a drastic change if we find out that we do not have a maid the next day. I don’t think our family will be able to adjust to that kind of life and we will all have to make plenty of sacrifices to take care of my mother.” said Madam Wee.

Mrs Cortez, 44, a human resource manager, also relies on her domestic worker, Lizele, heavily. With her busy schedule at work and with her husband working abroad, she is thankful that she has Lizel to take care of her three kids and help out with household chores.

“It will be a total disaster without her (Lizele). And I am glad that she is always there, she is trustworthy and hardworking... I don’t see her as a maid or an outsider, but as a family member that I can rely and trust,” said Mrs Cortez when asked how her life would be without a domestic worker.

The government’s policies towards foreign domestic workers and employers have also improved the relationship between the two.

First time employers are obliged to attend a workshop to know more about domestic workers and the rights that they deserve. Harsher penalties such as imprisonment and caning will also be melted out to employers who fail to follow the guidelines.

When asked if Lizele is afraid of Mrs Cortez, she smiled and answered, “I love my job, my ma’am treats me very good.”

Sidebars

Year	Number of Foreign Domestic workers in Singapore
1980	20,000
2001	50,000
2005	140,000
2009	160,000

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Year	Number of abuse cases
1997	157
1998	89
1999	82
2000	87
2001	41
2002	43
2003	70
2004	59
2005	59
2006	42
2007	68
2008	53