Maid forced to sleep in kitchen asks for help because even after working from 8 am to 12:30 am, family still disturbs her

Singapore — A domestic helper turned to post her woes on social media after she found that the family she was working for was not giving her enough rest or privacy.

In a post to a help group for foreign domestic workers in Singapore, one Ms S wrote that she was very patient with her working situation.

She explained that she was required to work from 8 am to 12:30 am, with most of her work only ending at that time.

She wrote that she slept in the corner of the kitchen, with her bed placed there.

In her post, Ms S added that she was not able to sleep well because often as she lay on her bed, the family still came to the kitchen, and she was disturbed.

While it was unclear if them being in the kitchen disturbed her sleep, or if they came to the kitchen to wake her up, she was unsure how to handle the situation and asked other foreign domestic helpers for advice as to what to do.

Many who commented on her post were upset by her situation. They said that she should report the situation to the Ministry of Manpower, since she did not even have 9 hours of sleep. Others suggested that she speak to her employers or approach her agent.

In the comments section, the helper replied that she had already tried asking her agent for help with the situation, and added that the agent did not assist her. She wrote that as a result, she was planning to go back to her home country.

TISG has reached out to the domestic helper and to the Ministry of Manpower for comment and clarification. /TISG