Term 3 Week 1 Assignment

On June 19, speaking at a community sports festival at Singapore Polytechnic, Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports and veteran labour leader Ms Halimah Yacob called for the legislation of weekly days off for maids. And if a rest day a week is not possible, she suggested that maids should at least be compensated in cash. This has sparked heated debate amongst Singaporeans. In my opinion, the giving of weekly days off for foreign domestic workers should be made mandatory in Singapore.

Ms Yacob’s comment came after member states of the International Labour Organisation adopted a treaty that offers domestic workers a full-day rest each week. Singapore was among the 63 countries that abstained from voting on the Convention on Decent Work for Domestic Workers, saying that Singapore would sign the treaty when it was sure it could implement it here. In other countries like Hong Kong and Taiwan, maids have mandatory rest days. If employers do not change their mindset now, they may find it costlier to hire maids in the future as supply of maids to Singapore decreases.

Maids should be treated equally like other workers. All workers, including maids, have a right to legal protection to ensure that they are not abused and overworked. However, some Singaporeans have the mindset that maids are inferior, that they are paid to work and not to rest. If their work is not recognised and appreciated, what difference is it from servitude or slavery? They must be acknowledged as humans, not properties. Some may argue that Singaporeans work long hours and are stressed at work, but that does not give us the right to deprive the maid of a weekly day off – a right that we have – just because we want some rest for ourselves.

Some also argue that it is the maid’s duty to take care of the elderly parents and children. However, do our parents and children belong to the maid? Is it not our personal responsibility to take care of our loved ones for just a day when the maid is away? This over-reliance on maids is worrying. With Singaporeans facing an aging population, we cannot expect maids to solve this problem for us. It is our utmost responsibility to take care of the aged. Also, children should be taught responsibility and how to look after themselves. With maids taking care of their every need, children will be spoilt and grow up thinking that everything will be done for them. Children at school-going age should help with the housework for the day without the maid’s presence.

In conclusion, a happy worker is a good worker. Maids may become resentful and irritable without sufficient rest. Will you trust a tired maid to take care of your loved ones? However, the government can review the current policies placing financial liability on employers for wayward maids. Although this legislation may face public backlash, it is in the interests of both the maid and employer. It protects a vulnerable group who often suffers in silence in the unequal power relationship between maid and employer. This will go a long way in safeguarding the basic rights and dignity of maids.