Singapore – Amid the Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) period where members of the public are urged to minimise interactions to prevent the transmission of Covid-19 within the community, some domestic workers have highlighted being asked to work on their day off with no compensation.
The Ministry of Manpower released an advisory on May 21 urging domestic workers to stay home on their rest days and avoid crowded areas when running errands.
“If MDWs (migrant domestic workers) need to go out for essential errands, they should keep it short, avoid crowded places and keep to the maximum group size of two persons. They should not intermingle between groups, and should also not share food, drinks or utensils,” said MOM.
Furthermore, if a domestic worker decides to stay home on a rest day, employers should not assign them any work, noted MOM.
“If employers come to a mutual agreement with their MDWs to forgo their rest day, employers must provide compensation in lieu of the rest day.”
However, several domestic workers told to stay home on their days off are still being asked to work for substantial periods without the corresponding compensation, reported Straits Times on Friday (May 28).
One domestic worker from Indonesia shared that her employer asked her to do laundry and meal preparation without extra pay.
“I asked (my employer) if I could get paid for working on my day off, but she said no. My day off feels like any other workday,” said the MDW.
Others shared that it was difficult to rest at home as it is also where they work.
“The girl I’m looking after would still come into my room so many times, and I couldn’t rest well,” said another domestic worker who tried resting in her room on her day off after three to four hours of doing chores.
She noted not being compensated for the extra work.
The Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) noted it has yet to study any current trends about such issues faced by MDWs.
However, HOME’s case manager Jaya Anil Kumar urged for rest days to be a 24-hour period to avoid repeating last year’s 25 per cent increase in the number of helpline calls from MDWs highlighting such issues during the circuit breaker period.
“This will entrench the idea that domestic workers who stay at home should not be given work and, if they do, they should be compensated accordingly,” said Ms Jaya.
Executive director of the Centre for Domestic Employees Shamsul Kamar also reminded employers to respect the rest days of MDWs./TISG
Read related: S$3,000 more to employ maids from Indonesia from January 2021