A foreign domestic helper who did not wish to go with her employers on their vacation to Malaysia asked if she could decline to join them on the trip.
In an anonymous post to Facebook page FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), the helper wrote: “Hello! Is it mandatory or compulsory or required for the helper that when Employer having vacay out of the country like Malaysia to go with them?”
“What if I dont want.. Can I say no?” she asked.
Her post, on Friday (Sep 2), was not the first of its kind, with other helpers also having asked similar questions before. Responding to her post, other maids said that she should not be as picky and should be more flexible. They also noted that she should try communicating with them and explain a valid reason for not wanting to go.
In the comments section, the maid responded by saying that she was brought to Malaysia with the family the year before, but added, that she was locked in her employer’s parents’ house for three days.
Here’s what they said:
In April, another foreign domestic worker asked if there are any consequences she will have to face for refusing to go with her employers on their holiday.
In a Facebook post on the group FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), a woman who gives her name as Deep Kaur posted this question on behalf of another domestic helper.
She wrote that the employers were going to India on vacation, and they wanted to take their helper with them. But the helper does not want to go with them.
No reason is given for the domestic helper’s reluctance to go with them to India. In her post, Ms Deep Kaur asked what might happen if the helper refuses to go. Though uncertain, she says she does not think employers can force the helper to go with them.
“Should she explain her wish to them nicely?” Ms Deep Kaur writes.
She asked other domestic helpers and employers for their opinions: “I don’t know much about it. Can anyone explain what the helper can do in this situation and what is the best thing she should do?”
Among those who responded, one pointed out that the helpers are not supposed to work at any other address but that of the employer. Another said she thinks the contract is for work in Singapore, so an employer cannot force the helper to go overseas, and the employer needs to inform the Manpower Ministry.
Maid doesn’t want to go with employers on holiday, asks if there will be consequences