SINGAPORE — A new maid took to social media asking if she should be the one to hold her own work permit and passport. In a post to Facebook page FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), a friend of the maid shared the query on the maid’s behalf. She wrote that the maid was new and had only been in Singapore for five weeks.
“Her employer is keeping her permit and passport. Apparently this is normal. She took her day off last week. Her friends asked her of (sic) she has her permit, and she [s]aid no”, the friend wrote. The maid also said that her employer ‘pushed’ for the documents. In her post, she added that her agent was fierce and she wanted to know if asking her agent for help in this matter would backfire upon her.
“Will her employer think that maybe she wants to run away? Is it so important that she must have her dociments now, instead of waiting maybe three months when some trust has built between the two of them?” the friend wrote.
Netizens who commented gave varying opinions, some said that she should hold her own passport and work permit, while others said that she should leave her passport with her employer until her loan was repaid.
Here’s what they said:
According to the Manpower Ministry, “Employers should not keep the passports of their migrant workers or migrant domestic workers (MDWs). They should also not force their workers to give them their passport. The passport belongs to the bearer and the issuing authority of the bearer’s country/region of origin.
According to the Passports Act, it is an offence to keep or withhold any passport which does not belong to you. Good employers provide their workers with means to keep their passports and other belongings securely, such as a locker. The worker must have unrestricted access to the passport and belongings. Workers whose employers insist on withholding their passport can contact MOM for assistance”.
MOM also added that “The Work Permit card is issued to the worker, and must be held by the worker at all times for proper identification. As an employer, you must not keep the Work Permit cards of your migrant workers or migrant domestic workers. You should also not force your workers to give you their Work Permit cards. Likewise, workers should not ask their employers to keep their Work Permit cards for them”.
Last year, a foreign domestic helper found herself at a loss for what to do when her employer extended her work permit for two years instead of the one year she wanted.
In a post to Facebook group FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum) another woman, a netizen by the name of Devi Balbuena Sadang Abad, asked the question on behalf of her friend.
Ms Devi wrote that her friend extended working with her employer for another year, having it end in December. However, her employer extended her work permit for 2 years instead of the year she wanted.
“They agreed that she work[s] only till december.No written agreement”, Ms Devi wrote. Ms Devi then asked if the helper would need to ask permission from her employer should she want to find a new employer in December.
Other helpers who commented on the post said they experienced similar situations and were stuck working for their employers because they did not have a written agreement.