The following article was published in TODAY on 7 Dec 2006.
Maids need better healthcare protection;In light of cut in subsidies, current insurance plans inadequate, says group
By Lee U-Wen
TODAY (Singapore, 7 December 2006
A LOCAL society that campaigns for the welfare of foreign workers has called for greater protection for maids with regard to their healthcare costs.
Transient Workers Count Too president Braema Mathi said the existing insurance requirements for maids "may not be enough" to cover high medical fees such as for hospitalisation.
Ms Mathi, a former non-constituency Member of Parliament, made these comments in the light of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's announcement last Sunday that foreign workers in Singapore will no longer receive subsidies from the Government for healthcare.
Sometime next year, adjustments will be made by the Ministry of Health to require all foreign workers to pay the full amount, with employers now being urged to buy medical insurance to protect them.
Currently, the Ministry of Manpower requires all employers who want to employ a foreign maid to purchase for her a personal accident insurance plan with a minimum insured sum of $10,000. Most plans typically include a $5,000 coverage sum for hospitalisation and surgical expenses as part of the package.
While the exact quantum of the healthcare fee increase is not yet known, Ms Mathi said it is time to review the current minimum sum insured and introduce a more tailored plan for maids.
There are about 160,000 foreign domestic workers employed here, mostly from the Philippines.
The latest figures from the Ministry of Health show that about 10,000 foreign workers were admitted to either a B2 or C-class hospital ward last year. This makes up just over 5 per cent of the total 223,000 admissions.
Speaking to Today during a student conference on foreign domestic workers held at Ngee Ann Polytechnic yesterday, she said: "If healthcare costs become too exorbitant and the insurance coverage is not adequate, then we must do something about it, for the sake of both the employer and the maid."
Ms Shirley Koh of Good Link Employment Agency said: "Right now it's optional whether employers want to buy a better insurance plan or go for a basic plan. Most settle for the basic."
Besides insurance, employers have many other additional costs to bear. They have to ensure their maid undergoes a medical examination and is certified fit. Every six months after that, the maid is required to undergo a medical screening for pregnancy and Aids, among other things. Employers are also required to bear the full cost of medical care the maid incurs, including hospitalisation.
One suggestion by Ms Mathi is to draw up a standardised medical insurance scheme for maids that cover most of the common illnesses and diseases. Maid agencies and insurance firms could then work together to offer this scheme at an affordable price to employers, making it a win-win situation for all parties.
"There will be economies of scale, given the fact that there are 160,000 foreign domestic workers here in Singapore. Selling the scheme at a low cost but with a high coverage would be advantageous," she said.
The insurance policies for maids vary from company to company. Leading insurer NTUC Income has a special Foreign Maid Insurance plan that provides coverage such as $10,000 for repatriation, $10,000 for death and permanent disability, and up to $900 for wage compensation. Premiums range from $35 to $150 for a 26-month period.
Said veteran unionist Mdm Halimah Yacob: "With the new rules coming up, I suggest that employers purchase medical insurance or additional cover, pay a low cost for the premium now, and not run the risk of being saddled with a big financial burden in the future."
Thursday, December 7, 2006
Monday, August 21, 2006
More S'poreans opt for part-time maids
The following article was published in the Straits Times on 21 Aug 2006.
More S'poreans opt for part-time maids
By Melissa Sim
Straits Times, 21 August 2006
Agencies see 50% rise in demand, as people seek more privacy, flexibility
HOUSEWIFE Kathleen Lee, 36, pays $1,200 each month for a part-time maid when she could be paying half that amount to get a full-time domestic helper.
She maintains that the premium is worth paying because she wants her privacy.
'I don't like the idea of live-in maids going through my documents and valuables when I'm not around, so this is the closest I can get to a full-time maid without having to worry about someone else being in the house,' said Mrs Lee.
Her maid, from A-Team Amahs and Cleaners, comes in four times a week, eight hours each time, to cook and clean for the family.
Mrs Lee is one of an increasing number of Singaporeans who have turned to part-time maids.
Agencies and companies that provide these maids say they have seen an increase of up to 50 per cent in their number of clients over the last two years.
Interest in these legitimate part-timers also spiked last month, companies said, after the media reported on the case of New Zealander Tanya Suzzanne Lavington, who was fined $8,260 for hiring a moonlighting foreign maid.
Said Homemaker cleaning company owner Alvin Kor: 'There were about three times more calls, and we couldn't satisfy all their requests.'
Other companies in the business include Amahs on Wheels, Comfy Homes, Comshine Housekeeping and Services, and CleanHouse Effect. They charge anywhere from $200 to $500 a month for weekly cleaning, depending on the size of the unit.
There are also independent house cleaners charging $10 to $12 an hour, for a minimum of four hours.
Agencies like A-Team Amahs and Cleaners specialise in matching such part-time maids to employers for a fee of $108 onwards.
Couples who need only an occasional helping hand with household chores find it more economical to hire part-time maids.
Said Madam Karen Ng, 40, a business administrative executive: 'Now that my children are grown up, there's no need for a maid to be there all the time. We just need her once a week and that's much cheaper.'
There is also the issue of reliability.
'There is a lot more quality control when you use a cleaning company because the supervisors will come around for spot checks. Also, if the amah is on leave or ill, there is always a substitute, so you will never be left without help,' said associate professor Audrey Chia.
The National University of Singapore Business School faculty member lives in a three-bedroom private apartment with her husband and five-year-old daughter.
Most of the part-time maids are aged between 30 and 50 and are either Singaporeans, permanent residents, or Malaysians with work permits.
Since no other foreigners are allowed, companies are finding it hard to meet demand. Most say experienced local housekeepers are a dying breed.
Madam Yip Oi Ching, 50, who works with Amahs on Wheels, has been in the industry for over 10 years and enjoys her work.
'It's very flexible. If I can't make it on a certain day, I can rearrange the schedule to fit my activities. The people I work for are quite understanding,' she said.
But not all clients are easy to please.
Madam S.A. Letchumy, 32, who works with Homemaker, once had a difficult customer who demanded that they use bleach to clean the whole house.
'We had to wear gloves and smell bleach for two whole hours each week,' she said.
The shortage of efficient part-time maids is definitely a problem for CleanHouse Effect owners Irvin Boo and Justin Ng, who say they even have to pitch in themselves.
'There are a lot of aunties out there who can do the job, but it takes a long time to train them, so everyone in our company needs to be hands on, even us,' said Mr Boo.
More S'poreans opt for part-time maids
By Melissa Sim
Straits Times, 21 August 2006
Agencies see 50% rise in demand, as people seek more privacy, flexibility
HOUSEWIFE Kathleen Lee, 36, pays $1,200 each month for a part-time maid when she could be paying half that amount to get a full-time domestic helper.
She maintains that the premium is worth paying because she wants her privacy.
'I don't like the idea of live-in maids going through my documents and valuables when I'm not around, so this is the closest I can get to a full-time maid without having to worry about someone else being in the house,' said Mrs Lee.
Her maid, from A-Team Amahs and Cleaners, comes in four times a week, eight hours each time, to cook and clean for the family.
Mrs Lee is one of an increasing number of Singaporeans who have turned to part-time maids.
Agencies and companies that provide these maids say they have seen an increase of up to 50 per cent in their number of clients over the last two years.
Interest in these legitimate part-timers also spiked last month, companies said, after the media reported on the case of New Zealander Tanya Suzzanne Lavington, who was fined $8,260 for hiring a moonlighting foreign maid.
Said Homemaker cleaning company owner Alvin Kor: 'There were about three times more calls, and we couldn't satisfy all their requests.'
Other companies in the business include Amahs on Wheels, Comfy Homes, Comshine Housekeeping and Services, and CleanHouse Effect. They charge anywhere from $200 to $500 a month for weekly cleaning, depending on the size of the unit.
There are also independent house cleaners charging $10 to $12 an hour, for a minimum of four hours.
Agencies like A-Team Amahs and Cleaners specialise in matching such part-time maids to employers for a fee of $108 onwards.
Couples who need only an occasional helping hand with household chores find it more economical to hire part-time maids.
Said Madam Karen Ng, 40, a business administrative executive: 'Now that my children are grown up, there's no need for a maid to be there all the time. We just need her once a week and that's much cheaper.'
There is also the issue of reliability.
'There is a lot more quality control when you use a cleaning company because the supervisors will come around for spot checks. Also, if the amah is on leave or ill, there is always a substitute, so you will never be left without help,' said associate professor Audrey Chia.
The National University of Singapore Business School faculty member lives in a three-bedroom private apartment with her husband and five-year-old daughter.
Most of the part-time maids are aged between 30 and 50 and are either Singaporeans, permanent residents, or Malaysians with work permits.
Since no other foreigners are allowed, companies are finding it hard to meet demand. Most say experienced local housekeepers are a dying breed.
Madam Yip Oi Ching, 50, who works with Amahs on Wheels, has been in the industry for over 10 years and enjoys her work.
'It's very flexible. If I can't make it on a certain day, I can rearrange the schedule to fit my activities. The people I work for are quite understanding,' she said.
But not all clients are easy to please.
Madam S.A. Letchumy, 32, who works with Homemaker, once had a difficult customer who demanded that they use bleach to clean the whole house.
'We had to wear gloves and smell bleach for two whole hours each week,' she said.
The shortage of efficient part-time maids is definitely a problem for CleanHouse Effect owners Irvin Boo and Justin Ng, who say they even have to pitch in themselves.
'There are a lot of aunties out there who can do the job, but it takes a long time to train them, so everyone in our company needs to be hands on, even us,' said Mr Boo.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
A sad tale, maid in Singapore;
THe following article was published in TODAY on 11 March 2006.
A sad tale, maid in Singapore; Denying maids mandatory rest days is a crying shame
By Neil Humphreys
TODAY (Singapore), 11 March 2006
The toilet had to be cleaned last week. According to our ad hoc roster, it was supposed to be my wife's turn. But my stomach's appalling reaction to an overcooked pizza the previous night meant the room was off limits to any other human being.
The task only took 20 minutes, plus another hour to mop all the floors in the apartment.
The windows, on the other hand, are cleaned once every never. I've lived in my current Toa Payoh flat for three years and a cloth hasn't gone anywhere near a window.
What will the neighbours say? Not a lot, I live on the top floor. Only peeping toms and perverts can see the state of my windows and indulge their interest in different nooks and crannies. And my indifference to domestic chores won't affect property prices.
Housing agents do not take prospective buyers around other units on the floor saying: "The ang mohs next door are okay. No, they don't host cocaine parties. But I must tell you, they never clean their windows. To make amends, the owner will knock off 10k."
As a rule, the apartment gets a gentle makeover once a week and that suffices. So I hope you'll understand why the gahmen's decision to reject demands for maids to be given mandatory rest days left me speechless.
The Manpower Ministry (MOM) argued that such an extravagant luxury would inconvenience families with "special needs".
It has a valid point - particularly in a country that doesn't advocate the principles of a welfare state, but is happy to collect, according to some estimates, about $500 million in maid levies each year.
However, please raise your hand if you know at least one family that doesn't have special needs (that is, elderly relatives or children that cannot be looked after by another family member) and still makes their maid work seven days a week.
Thank you. The entire nation can put its hands down now.
MOM's decision seems to contradict its response to the Human Rights Watch report in December. The latter had reiterated that foreign domestic workers are not protected by the Employment Act and rest days were therefore not guaranteed. The MOM responded that the maids were assured of "adequate rest".
My dictionary doesn't define "rest" as working up to 365 days a year. Perhaps I should refer to the Coxford Singlish Dictionary instead.
Thankfully, the Association of Employment Agencies Singapore and Casetrust have intervened, coming up with a tougher employment contract that should be ready by the end of the month.
If maids are not given between one and four rest days a month, agencies risk losing their accreditation status.
That, along with the Feedback Unit's first study of foreign domestic workers, provides a little light, but the maids are nowhere near the end of the tunnel.
On the same day that the MOM rejected demands for a mandatory day off, the media reported that at least 231 foreigners committed suicide here between 2000 and 2004 and more than a third were foreign domestic maids. According to reports, the foreign maid suicide rate is 12 per 100,000, which is only marginally higher than the country's overall suicide rate of 10 per 100,000, but it's enough.
Psychologists pinpointed the fish-out-of-water effect and the laborious nature of their work. No kidding.
There's not a great deal to be happy about if you're a foreign domestic worker in Singapore. The hours are long, the weeks neverending and mandatory rest days will not be granted.
And if that wasn't enough, you've still got idiots ordering you to stand on a wobbly stool to clean the outside of a window that no one can see.
In fairness, the MOM stressed last month that the number of accidental falls leading to death had declined: There were eight last year, compared to an average of 12 a year five years ago.
Are we now supposed to stand together and perform the Kallang Wave because only eight women died last year cleaning a window?
It really hasn't been a good week for maids. On Wednesday, a woman pleaded guilty to dipping a maid's finger in oil.
Her crime? She'd used too much oil to fry fish.
At this point, perhaps, some of you will yawn. Here is another bleeding heart bleating on about rights for foreign women who cost a fortune to bring over, can't cook, can't wash, can't speak English properly and hang out with construction workers at Lucky Plaza.
Besides, I'm not even talking about you, am I? Your maid is a smiling picture of contentment. She's well treated, calls you "ma'am" or "sir" and always tells you she loves her work. She's so happy, she's never thought to ask for a day off.
But that's neither here nor there. Like the vague "special needs" get-out clause, it's not even relevant.
Whatever your circumstances, if you knowingly share a home with another human being who works long hours, seven days a week, how do you sleep at night?
A sad tale, maid in Singapore; Denying maids mandatory rest days is a crying shame
By Neil Humphreys
TODAY (Singapore), 11 March 2006
The toilet had to be cleaned last week. According to our ad hoc roster, it was supposed to be my wife's turn. But my stomach's appalling reaction to an overcooked pizza the previous night meant the room was off limits to any other human being.
The task only took 20 minutes, plus another hour to mop all the floors in the apartment.
The windows, on the other hand, are cleaned once every never. I've lived in my current Toa Payoh flat for three years and a cloth hasn't gone anywhere near a window.
What will the neighbours say? Not a lot, I live on the top floor. Only peeping toms and perverts can see the state of my windows and indulge their interest in different nooks and crannies. And my indifference to domestic chores won't affect property prices.
Housing agents do not take prospective buyers around other units on the floor saying: "The ang mohs next door are okay. No, they don't host cocaine parties. But I must tell you, they never clean their windows. To make amends, the owner will knock off 10k."
As a rule, the apartment gets a gentle makeover once a week and that suffices. So I hope you'll understand why the gahmen's decision to reject demands for maids to be given mandatory rest days left me speechless.
The Manpower Ministry (MOM) argued that such an extravagant luxury would inconvenience families with "special needs".
It has a valid point - particularly in a country that doesn't advocate the principles of a welfare state, but is happy to collect, according to some estimates, about $500 million in maid levies each year.
However, please raise your hand if you know at least one family that doesn't have special needs (that is, elderly relatives or children that cannot be looked after by another family member) and still makes their maid work seven days a week.
Thank you. The entire nation can put its hands down now.
MOM's decision seems to contradict its response to the Human Rights Watch report in December. The latter had reiterated that foreign domestic workers are not protected by the Employment Act and rest days were therefore not guaranteed. The MOM responded that the maids were assured of "adequate rest".
My dictionary doesn't define "rest" as working up to 365 days a year. Perhaps I should refer to the Coxford Singlish Dictionary instead.
Thankfully, the Association of Employment Agencies Singapore and Casetrust have intervened, coming up with a tougher employment contract that should be ready by the end of the month.
If maids are not given between one and four rest days a month, agencies risk losing their accreditation status.
That, along with the Feedback Unit's first study of foreign domestic workers, provides a little light, but the maids are nowhere near the end of the tunnel.
On the same day that the MOM rejected demands for a mandatory day off, the media reported that at least 231 foreigners committed suicide here between 2000 and 2004 and more than a third were foreign domestic maids. According to reports, the foreign maid suicide rate is 12 per 100,000, which is only marginally higher than the country's overall suicide rate of 10 per 100,000, but it's enough.
Psychologists pinpointed the fish-out-of-water effect and the laborious nature of their work. No kidding.
There's not a great deal to be happy about if you're a foreign domestic worker in Singapore. The hours are long, the weeks neverending and mandatory rest days will not be granted.
And if that wasn't enough, you've still got idiots ordering you to stand on a wobbly stool to clean the outside of a window that no one can see.
In fairness, the MOM stressed last month that the number of accidental falls leading to death had declined: There were eight last year, compared to an average of 12 a year five years ago.
Are we now supposed to stand together and perform the Kallang Wave because only eight women died last year cleaning a window?
It really hasn't been a good week for maids. On Wednesday, a woman pleaded guilty to dipping a maid's finger in oil.
Her crime? She'd used too much oil to fry fish.
At this point, perhaps, some of you will yawn. Here is another bleeding heart bleating on about rights for foreign women who cost a fortune to bring over, can't cook, can't wash, can't speak English properly and hang out with construction workers at Lucky Plaza.
Besides, I'm not even talking about you, am I? Your maid is a smiling picture of contentment. She's well treated, calls you "ma'am" or "sir" and always tells you she loves her work. She's so happy, she's never thought to ask for a day off.
But that's neither here nor there. Like the vague "special needs" get-out clause, it's not even relevant.
Whatever your circumstances, if you knowingly share a home with another human being who works long hours, seven days a week, how do you sleep at night?
Thursday, March 9, 2006
Foreign workers a 'high-risk' group
The following article was published in the Straits Times on 9 March 2006.
Foreign workers a 'high-risk' group
Straits Times, 9 March 2006
THEY come here to work to make life better for their families back home, but end up choosing to end their lives here.
At least 231 foreigners committed suicide here between 2000 and 2004, and more than a third of these were domestic maids, says Dr Chia Boon Hock, who has analysed the latest suicide statistics.
The 91 maids who killed themselves in that period put the foreign maid suicide rate at 12 per 100,000. Singapore's overall total suicide rate is about 10 per 100,000, he said.
These numbers have not gone unnoticed by psychologists, who agree that foreign workers are a 'high-risk' group. Such groups are usually defined by unexpectedly high numbers of suicides or rising rates of suicide.
'These people are young, in the prime of their lives, and not sick in any way. Their rates should not be so high,' said Dr Alex Su, organising chairman of the upcoming 2nd Asia Pacific Suicide Prevention Conference. 'We should look into it, instead of waiting for it to increase before paying it attention,' he added.
Dr Chia says the suicidal often feel 'trapped': 'They have spent so much to come here, and so many hopes are pinned on them. They feel like they can't go back.'
He added that it was not that Singapore made people end their lives - any new place could be 'frightening' for a foreigner. 'Imagine going somewhere to do laborious work and being treated badly. What makes it worse is when you can't speak the language, and get homesick.'
He cited a letter about bad work conditions that an 18-year-old Indonesian maid left to her parents. The teen, saying she could not take any more scolding from her employer, reminded her parents to claim compensation if anything should happen to her.
The Straits Times also acquired a translated journal of a 32-year-old Sri Lankan maid who jumped to her death in September last year. In it, she wrote about not having a way out. She had to come to Singapore to work to clear her family's debts, which had piled up after her father's death.
In one of the last entries in her journal, she confessed to having nothing left to lose.
Next to the maids, foreign male labourers, mainly construction workers, also registered a significant number of suicides. Between 2000 and 2004, 68 killed themselves.
No information is available at the moment on what factors drive this group to end it all.
Foreign workers a 'high-risk' group
Straits Times, 9 March 2006
THEY come here to work to make life better for their families back home, but end up choosing to end their lives here.
At least 231 foreigners committed suicide here between 2000 and 2004, and more than a third of these were domestic maids, says Dr Chia Boon Hock, who has analysed the latest suicide statistics.
The 91 maids who killed themselves in that period put the foreign maid suicide rate at 12 per 100,000. Singapore's overall total suicide rate is about 10 per 100,000, he said.
These numbers have not gone unnoticed by psychologists, who agree that foreign workers are a 'high-risk' group. Such groups are usually defined by unexpectedly high numbers of suicides or rising rates of suicide.
'These people are young, in the prime of their lives, and not sick in any way. Their rates should not be so high,' said Dr Alex Su, organising chairman of the upcoming 2nd Asia Pacific Suicide Prevention Conference. 'We should look into it, instead of waiting for it to increase before paying it attention,' he added.
Dr Chia says the suicidal often feel 'trapped': 'They have spent so much to come here, and so many hopes are pinned on them. They feel like they can't go back.'
He added that it was not that Singapore made people end their lives - any new place could be 'frightening' for a foreigner. 'Imagine going somewhere to do laborious work and being treated badly. What makes it worse is when you can't speak the language, and get homesick.'
He cited a letter about bad work conditions that an 18-year-old Indonesian maid left to her parents. The teen, saying she could not take any more scolding from her employer, reminded her parents to claim compensation if anything should happen to her.
The Straits Times also acquired a translated journal of a 32-year-old Sri Lankan maid who jumped to her death in September last year. In it, she wrote about not having a way out. She had to come to Singapore to work to clear her family's debts, which had piled up after her father's death.
In one of the last entries in her journal, she confessed to having nothing left to lose.
Next to the maids, foreign male labourers, mainly construction workers, also registered a significant number of suicides. Between 2000 and 2004, 68 killed themselves.
No information is available at the moment on what factors drive this group to end it all.
Singapore rejects calls for maids' mandatory day off
The following article was published by Reuters on 9 March 2006.
Singapore rejects calls for maids' mandatory day off
Reuters News, 9 March 2006
SINGAPORE, March 9 (Reuters) - Singapore's government has rejected calls to give foreign maids a mandatory rest day -- a standard practice for workers covered by its Employment Act -- because such time off could "inconvenience" many households. New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) last year urged Singapore to provide better legal protection for foreign maids.
By excluding maids from its Employment Act, Singapore's labour laws failed to comply with international law, it said, urging Singapore to follow Hong Kong's example by protecting maids' rights to a weekly rest day and a minimum wage.
But Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower, Hawazi Daipi, told parliament on Wednesday that prescribing minimum employment terms and conditions for maids would inevitably lead to "rigidities and inconvenience" for many families.
"Some households have elderly or infirm members with special needs who require constant attention and may find it difficult to release the domestic worker for a prescribed period every week," Daipi said.
About one in six households in Singapore employs a foreign maid, enabling couples to work and raise families. About 160,000 such workers -- mainly from Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka -- are currently employed in the city-state.
The Ministry of Manpower, which said the HRW report grossly exaggerated the abuse and lack of rights of maids in Singapore, urged consumer watchdog bodies and maid agencies to produce standard employment contracts to include terms such as rest days.
"Employers are held responsible for the well-being of their foreign domestic workers, including the provision of adequate rest," said Daipi.
Employers who breach these work permit conditions can be fined up to S$5,000 and served with a jail term of up to six months, he added.
Singapore rejects calls for maids' mandatory day off
Reuters News, 9 March 2006
SINGAPORE, March 9 (Reuters) - Singapore's government has rejected calls to give foreign maids a mandatory rest day -- a standard practice for workers covered by its Employment Act -- because such time off could "inconvenience" many households. New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) last year urged Singapore to provide better legal protection for foreign maids.
By excluding maids from its Employment Act, Singapore's labour laws failed to comply with international law, it said, urging Singapore to follow Hong Kong's example by protecting maids' rights to a weekly rest day and a minimum wage.
But Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower, Hawazi Daipi, told parliament on Wednesday that prescribing minimum employment terms and conditions for maids would inevitably lead to "rigidities and inconvenience" for many families.
"Some households have elderly or infirm members with special needs who require constant attention and may find it difficult to release the domestic worker for a prescribed period every week," Daipi said.
About one in six households in Singapore employs a foreign maid, enabling couples to work and raise families. About 160,000 such workers -- mainly from Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka -- are currently employed in the city-state.
The Ministry of Manpower, which said the HRW report grossly exaggerated the abuse and lack of rights of maids in Singapore, urged consumer watchdog bodies and maid agencies to produce standard employment contracts to include terms such as rest days.
"Employers are held responsible for the well-being of their foreign domestic workers, including the provision of adequate rest," said Daipi.
Employers who breach these work permit conditions can be fined up to S$5,000 and served with a jail term of up to six months, he added.
Monday, February 13, 2006
Careless maids not our fault, bosses say
The following article was published in the Straits Times on 13 Feb 2006.
Careless maids not our fault, bosses say
By Arlina Arshad and Arti Mulchand
Straits Times, 13 February 2006
They worry about being held responsible for all mishaps following court case
THE case of the falling maid is causing jitters among employers, who wonder if they would be held responsible for every mishap to their maids, even through no fault of theirs.
Some point out that the maids sometimes put themselves in danger while working in the home, like Madam Gina Ho's Indonesian maid whom she caught climbing a ladder to clean the exterior of her flat's 17th-storey windows.
Said Madam Ho: 'I shouted at her. I said if she did it again, I'd get the embassy to tell her in her language.'
Or like Ms Grace Asha's Indian maid, whom her son caught standing on a stool cleaning windows with the grilles wide open recently.
The maid of three years insisted that she understood safety and knew what she was doing.
'Now, we don't let her clean the windows unless we're at home. I know it's because she wants to prove that she can perform the job well, but she didn't realise the danger,' Ms Asha said.
Miss Udaya, 36, said in Tamil: 'I didn't really think I would die. I don't clean the windows like that anymore.'
Last Tuesday, housewife Ngu Mei Mei, 37, was sentenced to two weeks' jail for endangering her Indonesian maid's life. Miss Yanti, 22, plunged eight floors to her death while out on a ledge to hang laundry.
Employers who put their maids' lives in danger could be jailed for up to three months or fined up to $250, or both. They will also be permanently barred from employing a foreign domestic worker.
Under the Employment of Foreign Workers Act, employers who fail to provide safe working conditions can also be jailed for up to six months, fined up to $5,000, or both.
Employers interviewed are willing to take the rap should their maids die because they had given reckless instructions, but they said they should not be blamed when their maids are careless.
Madam Ho asked: 'If the employer totally doesn't know and the fault ends up on them, it's harsh. If my maid accidentally cuts herself, could I be charged for negligence?'
Ngu was jailed even though her mother-in-law had admitted to instructing the maid to hang the laundry on the ledge, as the courts made it clear that the employer bore the ultimate responsibility for the maid's safety.
Madam Janice Tan, 41, who is self-employed, said her in-laws supervise her Filipino maid during the day when she is at work.
'Would it then be fair to blame me just because I have hired the maid under my name? If anything was going on, I may not know. How can I be held responsible?' she said.
Corporate sales manager Rabia Muir, 41, said the maid should be a 'shared responsibility' among family members.
'One should not generalise based on the one case that everything that goes wrong is the employer's fault,' she said.
Agreeing, computer operations officer Doris Yeo, in her 40s, said her niece - who lives with her - may be the maid's legal employer, but she should not take the rap for any mishap she did not cause.
Employers also could not be expected to keep a watch on maids at all times or be the only ones to instruct them.
'Does that mean I have to be stuck with her 24 hours and take her along everywhere? That is unrealistic,' said Madam Carly Yu, 44, who is self-employed.
Employers point out that the axe would fall mainly on working mothers, as they can claim foreign maid relief.
Only a handful of employers like software engineer Hock Chue Ha, 37, thought it right that they should bear ultimate responsibility.
Madam Hock said her 67-year-old mother once told her maid to put a soiled mattress to dry on bamboo poles outside their 16th-storey kitchen window when she was at work.
'I forbade her to do so before going for work but saw the mattress outside when I returned in the evening. I had to warn her it's dangerous for the maid and people walking below,' she added.
But she would not blame her mother if her maid fell out because she considers it her duty to remind family members to take safety precautions.
Lawyers interviewed concurred with the court's verdict, saying that Ngu could have stopped her mother-in-law from insisting on the laundry being hung on the ledge, but she chose not to.
Litigation lawyer Bernard Doray said: 'It's a question of responsibility. It is like A giving B poison and C standing by and allowing it to happen. Ngu is the lawful employer and should intervene.'
Is there a chance that employers may escape charges if an accident happens to the maid while they are not home?
Lawyers do not think so.
Criminal lawyer Amolat Singh said employers have the duty to lay down the dos and don'ts, including safety issues, to the person who supervises the maid in their absence. 'Employers cannot wash their hands. They can delegate duty to another person, but not burden and responsibility. They are still liable.'
Careless maids not our fault, bosses say
By Arlina Arshad and Arti Mulchand
Straits Times, 13 February 2006
They worry about being held responsible for all mishaps following court case
THE case of the falling maid is causing jitters among employers, who wonder if they would be held responsible for every mishap to their maids, even through no fault of theirs.
Some point out that the maids sometimes put themselves in danger while working in the home, like Madam Gina Ho's Indonesian maid whom she caught climbing a ladder to clean the exterior of her flat's 17th-storey windows.
Said Madam Ho: 'I shouted at her. I said if she did it again, I'd get the embassy to tell her in her language.'
Or like Ms Grace Asha's Indian maid, whom her son caught standing on a stool cleaning windows with the grilles wide open recently.
The maid of three years insisted that she understood safety and knew what she was doing.
'Now, we don't let her clean the windows unless we're at home. I know it's because she wants to prove that she can perform the job well, but she didn't realise the danger,' Ms Asha said.
Miss Udaya, 36, said in Tamil: 'I didn't really think I would die. I don't clean the windows like that anymore.'
Last Tuesday, housewife Ngu Mei Mei, 37, was sentenced to two weeks' jail for endangering her Indonesian maid's life. Miss Yanti, 22, plunged eight floors to her death while out on a ledge to hang laundry.
Employers who put their maids' lives in danger could be jailed for up to three months or fined up to $250, or both. They will also be permanently barred from employing a foreign domestic worker.
Under the Employment of Foreign Workers Act, employers who fail to provide safe working conditions can also be jailed for up to six months, fined up to $5,000, or both.
Employers interviewed are willing to take the rap should their maids die because they had given reckless instructions, but they said they should not be blamed when their maids are careless.
Madam Ho asked: 'If the employer totally doesn't know and the fault ends up on them, it's harsh. If my maid accidentally cuts herself, could I be charged for negligence?'
Ngu was jailed even though her mother-in-law had admitted to instructing the maid to hang the laundry on the ledge, as the courts made it clear that the employer bore the ultimate responsibility for the maid's safety.
Madam Janice Tan, 41, who is self-employed, said her in-laws supervise her Filipino maid during the day when she is at work.
'Would it then be fair to blame me just because I have hired the maid under my name? If anything was going on, I may not know. How can I be held responsible?' she said.
Corporate sales manager Rabia Muir, 41, said the maid should be a 'shared responsibility' among family members.
'One should not generalise based on the one case that everything that goes wrong is the employer's fault,' she said.
Agreeing, computer operations officer Doris Yeo, in her 40s, said her niece - who lives with her - may be the maid's legal employer, but she should not take the rap for any mishap she did not cause.
Employers also could not be expected to keep a watch on maids at all times or be the only ones to instruct them.
'Does that mean I have to be stuck with her 24 hours and take her along everywhere? That is unrealistic,' said Madam Carly Yu, 44, who is self-employed.
Employers point out that the axe would fall mainly on working mothers, as they can claim foreign maid relief.
Only a handful of employers like software engineer Hock Chue Ha, 37, thought it right that they should bear ultimate responsibility.
Madam Hock said her 67-year-old mother once told her maid to put a soiled mattress to dry on bamboo poles outside their 16th-storey kitchen window when she was at work.
'I forbade her to do so before going for work but saw the mattress outside when I returned in the evening. I had to warn her it's dangerous for the maid and people walking below,' she added.
But she would not blame her mother if her maid fell out because she considers it her duty to remind family members to take safety precautions.
Lawyers interviewed concurred with the court's verdict, saying that Ngu could have stopped her mother-in-law from insisting on the laundry being hung on the ledge, but she chose not to.
Litigation lawyer Bernard Doray said: 'It's a question of responsibility. It is like A giving B poison and C standing by and allowing it to happen. Ngu is the lawful employer and should intervene.'
Is there a chance that employers may escape charges if an accident happens to the maid while they are not home?
Lawyers do not think so.
Criminal lawyer Amolat Singh said employers have the duty to lay down the dos and don'ts, including safety issues, to the person who supervises the maid in their absence. 'Employers cannot wash their hands. They can delegate duty to another person, but not burden and responsibility. They are still liable.'
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Workplace Safety Act passed to improve safety at workplace
The following article was published by Channel NewsAsia on 17 Jan 2006.
Workplace Safety Act passed to improve safety at workplace
Channel NewsAsia, 17 January 2006
SINGAPORE : The Manpower Ministry has moved to put in place a new and more effective framework to reduce accidents at the workplace and make Singapore a safer place to work in.
The Factories Act will be abolished and replaced by the new Workplace Safety and Health Act.
This Act will form the legal framework for the new Occupational Safety and Health regulatory System, and will cover all workplaces within the next 3 to 5 years.
The Nicoll Highway collapse, the construction site accident at Fusionpolis, and fire on the vessel "Almudaina" at Keppel Shipyard - these episodes in 2004 showed a need for better work safety standards.
"This Bill will put in place a new and more effective framework to reduce accidents at the workplace. It is expected to bring about a quantum leap improvement in OSH (Occupational Safety and Health) standards and to achieve our immediate goal of halving the present occupational fatality rate by 2015," said Manpower Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen.
The target is to cut deaths at the workplace from 4.9 per 100,000 workers to 2.5 in ten years.
Although Singapore's accident frequency rate has stagnated at about 2.2 since 2001, its safety record is still lagging behind other developed countries.
The Bill will require employers to conduct comprehensive risk assessments for all work processes, and provide detailed plans to minimise or eliminate risks.
In this, the Manpower Ministry says it plans to work with industries, including developers of new projects such as the Integrated Resorts, from the design stage to identify potential risks, rather than wait till the plans are submitted.
Manpower Ministry's officers will also have a new enforcement tool - the power to issue "Remedial Orders", where officers will be able to compel worksites to remove a workplace risk regardless of whether there is an imminent danger. Non-compliance can lead to a stop-work order.
Under the new Act, greater responsibility and accountability will be assigned to everyone, from rank-and-file workers to managers and directors of companies, even though they may not be directly involved at the workplace.
This is unlike the current Factories Act, which stipulates that the legal liability for safety and health in a factory lies primarily with the factory occupier.
"To engender a strong safety culture, commitment of top management is critical. Hence the Bill holds managers and directors of companies accountable for safety and health practices at their workplace under Clause 48, even though managers may not be able to police safety and health on the ground," said Dr Ng.
The Bill also contains a revised penalty framework to reflect the cost of poor safety management.
While the maximum fine for individuals remains at up to $200,000, the jail term has been increased from 12 months to 24 months.
For corporations, they can be fined up to $500,000.
"This Bill itself is not a solution but it will put into place an improved legal framework to get all stakeholders to embed occupational safety and health into their daily operations," said the Manpower Minister.
For a start, the Manpower Ministry will focus on improving the safety practices of sectors with the highest accident rates such as construction sites, shipyards and metalworking factories.
But it will gradually extend the scope to cover other workplaces including restaurants, hotels and the healthcare industry.
The Act is expected to come into force by the end of March.
Workplace Safety Act passed to improve safety at workplace
Channel NewsAsia, 17 January 2006
SINGAPORE : The Manpower Ministry has moved to put in place a new and more effective framework to reduce accidents at the workplace and make Singapore a safer place to work in.
The Factories Act will be abolished and replaced by the new Workplace Safety and Health Act.
This Act will form the legal framework for the new Occupational Safety and Health regulatory System, and will cover all workplaces within the next 3 to 5 years.
The Nicoll Highway collapse, the construction site accident at Fusionpolis, and fire on the vessel "Almudaina" at Keppel Shipyard - these episodes in 2004 showed a need for better work safety standards.
"This Bill will put in place a new and more effective framework to reduce accidents at the workplace. It is expected to bring about a quantum leap improvement in OSH (Occupational Safety and Health) standards and to achieve our immediate goal of halving the present occupational fatality rate by 2015," said Manpower Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen.
The target is to cut deaths at the workplace from 4.9 per 100,000 workers to 2.5 in ten years.
Although Singapore's accident frequency rate has stagnated at about 2.2 since 2001, its safety record is still lagging behind other developed countries.
The Bill will require employers to conduct comprehensive risk assessments for all work processes, and provide detailed plans to minimise or eliminate risks.
In this, the Manpower Ministry says it plans to work with industries, including developers of new projects such as the Integrated Resorts, from the design stage to identify potential risks, rather than wait till the plans are submitted.
Manpower Ministry's officers will also have a new enforcement tool - the power to issue "Remedial Orders", where officers will be able to compel worksites to remove a workplace risk regardless of whether there is an imminent danger. Non-compliance can lead to a stop-work order.
Under the new Act, greater responsibility and accountability will be assigned to everyone, from rank-and-file workers to managers and directors of companies, even though they may not be directly involved at the workplace.
This is unlike the current Factories Act, which stipulates that the legal liability for safety and health in a factory lies primarily with the factory occupier.
"To engender a strong safety culture, commitment of top management is critical. Hence the Bill holds managers and directors of companies accountable for safety and health practices at their workplace under Clause 48, even though managers may not be able to police safety and health on the ground," said Dr Ng.
The Bill also contains a revised penalty framework to reflect the cost of poor safety management.
While the maximum fine for individuals remains at up to $200,000, the jail term has been increased from 12 months to 24 months.
For corporations, they can be fined up to $500,000.
"This Bill itself is not a solution but it will put into place an improved legal framework to get all stakeholders to embed occupational safety and health into their daily operations," said the Manpower Minister.
For a start, the Manpower Ministry will focus on improving the safety practices of sectors with the highest accident rates such as construction sites, shipyards and metalworking factories.
But it will gradually extend the scope to cover other workplaces including restaurants, hotels and the healthcare industry.
The Act is expected to come into force by the end of March.
Saturday, January 7, 2006
It's time S'pore women face their demons
The following article was published in the Business Times on 7 Jan 2006.
It's time S'pore women face their demons
By Siow Li Sen, Senior Correspondent
Business Times Singapore, 7 January 2006
Too many are taking it out on the most vulnerable person in their home - the foreign maid
A WOMAN director at a bank once told me that she felt grateful to her mother and maid for looking after the household chores and her children, adding that she wished her mother would nag less, and that the maid would continue to be patient.
The director went on to say that to maintain peace at home, she often gave way to her mother.
I suspect the situation of the banker is repeated across quite a few families in Singapore where the grandma is the actual boss in a home which is not hers.
Singapore has the rather unusual phenomenon of elderly women killed or abused by maids, in addition to the numerous cases of maid abuse.
The nation was once again squirming with the release last month of a report by US-based Human Rights Watch which highlighted abuse of maids in Singapore - although the Ministry of Manpower points out that the report's standards of research and reporting misrepresent the state of the 150,000 foreign domestic workers who choose to work here.
Abuse which gets confirmed by the police has been declining. Maid abuse cases fell from 157 in 1997 to 59 in 2004. From January to September 2005, 32 cases were recorded.
This just accounts for the worst kinds of physical ill treatment. What goes under the radar is mental cruelty, which runs the gamut from incessant name-calling or nagging to threats of being sent home without pay, and denial of days off or even of contact with the outside world.
But such abuse is increasingly being recognised, so that in many of the past cases of employers or the employer's mother or grandmother being killed, the courts have taken it into account as mitigation and not imposed a death sentence.
It is a pity that in many of these cases, much is made of the positive points of the abusive or murdered employers, versus the aberrant behaviour of the maids.
I feel that what is worse is that there is hardly any light shed on what turns the 'loving wives/perfect mothers, doting grandmas' into monsters who pinch, beat and inflict physical, mental and verbal torture on maids - behaviour reminiscent of slave owners.
Researchers of civil society group TWC2 in 2003 found that of 147 reported abuse cases, more than two thirds of the abusers were women.
An Indonesian study done on problems faced by Indonesian domestic workers in Singapore listed problems with the grandmother, child or female employer among 10 main issues.
'The problem becomes heavier when the employer's grandmother is unkind or the children are badly behaved,' the study said. 'The conflict with the grandmother is often viewed to be worse than problems with the employer. A nagging female employer or grandmother is indeed considered as a problem by migrant domestic workers as opposed to a heavy workload that can still be endured.'
In quite a few of the cases that went before the courts, there was another common thread - absentee husbands, who were constantly out of the country because of their work.
All the men who testified in court claimed they typically never saw their wives lay a hand on the maids or ill-treat them in any way. Of course, since they were never at home, that's not surprising. At most, the men admit to hearing scoldings.
A few months ago, I witnessed a curious situation at a relative's home. In the presence of her employer and his mother, the maid was quite vehement about how the older lady was a 'difficult' person and she would not work for her even if her wages were tripled.
The employer kept quiet and did not tick off his maid for being so bold in speaking out against his mother.
I think most of us realise that there are hardly any angels in our families, but it is the woman who is usually the maid-bully.
Why? Is it because, despite the advances women have made here, they continue to shoulder the bulk of domestic chores, which can include looking after elderly relatives with little help from the men?
Or that despite having become successful, the women are lonely and alienated and so take it out on that most vulnerable person in their lives?
Or in the case of the nagging grandmas, do they make themselves useful by running their children's households because they are bored with their lives, and worry that relatives would gossip if they decide to live it up - but are still miserable with their choices?
Many of our elderly women also suffer from depression, progressive dementia or senility, and some families cope with this by denial, and as long as they can bear the situation.
If there is a maid, she often becomes the sole care giver of the elderly for most of the week and bears the brunt of the frustration or wrath of the grandma, in addition to doing the household chores.
The maid gets no rest - while family members can drop by for brief visits, and those who live in the same home can get some respite by going away or escape by just going out.
I suspect that even before many of the abuse situations come to light, the wives and mothers would have been for some time the most unhappy persons in the home, leading desperate lives, in addition to the maid.
Singapore women need to admit they are bored, depressed, sexually frustrated or whatever it is that makes them lash out, and take steps to help themselves.
Their men and children, too, need to see what is happening at home, instead of living in denial.
It's time S'pore women face their demons
By Siow Li Sen, Senior Correspondent
Business Times Singapore, 7 January 2006
Too many are taking it out on the most vulnerable person in their home - the foreign maid
A WOMAN director at a bank once told me that she felt grateful to her mother and maid for looking after the household chores and her children, adding that she wished her mother would nag less, and that the maid would continue to be patient.
The director went on to say that to maintain peace at home, she often gave way to her mother.
I suspect the situation of the banker is repeated across quite a few families in Singapore where the grandma is the actual boss in a home which is not hers.
Singapore has the rather unusual phenomenon of elderly women killed or abused by maids, in addition to the numerous cases of maid abuse.
The nation was once again squirming with the release last month of a report by US-based Human Rights Watch which highlighted abuse of maids in Singapore - although the Ministry of Manpower points out that the report's standards of research and reporting misrepresent the state of the 150,000 foreign domestic workers who choose to work here.
Abuse which gets confirmed by the police has been declining. Maid abuse cases fell from 157 in 1997 to 59 in 2004. From January to September 2005, 32 cases were recorded.
This just accounts for the worst kinds of physical ill treatment. What goes under the radar is mental cruelty, which runs the gamut from incessant name-calling or nagging to threats of being sent home without pay, and denial of days off or even of contact with the outside world.
But such abuse is increasingly being recognised, so that in many of the past cases of employers or the employer's mother or grandmother being killed, the courts have taken it into account as mitigation and not imposed a death sentence.
It is a pity that in many of these cases, much is made of the positive points of the abusive or murdered employers, versus the aberrant behaviour of the maids.
I feel that what is worse is that there is hardly any light shed on what turns the 'loving wives/perfect mothers, doting grandmas' into monsters who pinch, beat and inflict physical, mental and verbal torture on maids - behaviour reminiscent of slave owners.
Researchers of civil society group TWC2 in 2003 found that of 147 reported abuse cases, more than two thirds of the abusers were women.
An Indonesian study done on problems faced by Indonesian domestic workers in Singapore listed problems with the grandmother, child or female employer among 10 main issues.
'The problem becomes heavier when the employer's grandmother is unkind or the children are badly behaved,' the study said. 'The conflict with the grandmother is often viewed to be worse than problems with the employer. A nagging female employer or grandmother is indeed considered as a problem by migrant domestic workers as opposed to a heavy workload that can still be endured.'
In quite a few of the cases that went before the courts, there was another common thread - absentee husbands, who were constantly out of the country because of their work.
All the men who testified in court claimed they typically never saw their wives lay a hand on the maids or ill-treat them in any way. Of course, since they were never at home, that's not surprising. At most, the men admit to hearing scoldings.
A few months ago, I witnessed a curious situation at a relative's home. In the presence of her employer and his mother, the maid was quite vehement about how the older lady was a 'difficult' person and she would not work for her even if her wages were tripled.
The employer kept quiet and did not tick off his maid for being so bold in speaking out against his mother.
I think most of us realise that there are hardly any angels in our families, but it is the woman who is usually the maid-bully.
Why? Is it because, despite the advances women have made here, they continue to shoulder the bulk of domestic chores, which can include looking after elderly relatives with little help from the men?
Or that despite having become successful, the women are lonely and alienated and so take it out on that most vulnerable person in their lives?
Or in the case of the nagging grandmas, do they make themselves useful by running their children's households because they are bored with their lives, and worry that relatives would gossip if they decide to live it up - but are still miserable with their choices?
Many of our elderly women also suffer from depression, progressive dementia or senility, and some families cope with this by denial, and as long as they can bear the situation.
If there is a maid, she often becomes the sole care giver of the elderly for most of the week and bears the brunt of the frustration or wrath of the grandma, in addition to doing the household chores.
The maid gets no rest - while family members can drop by for brief visits, and those who live in the same home can get some respite by going away or escape by just going out.
I suspect that even before many of the abuse situations come to light, the wives and mothers would have been for some time the most unhappy persons in the home, leading desperate lives, in addition to the maid.
Singapore women need to admit they are bored, depressed, sexually frustrated or whatever it is that makes them lash out, and take steps to help themselves.
Their men and children, too, need to see what is happening at home, instead of living in denial.
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