SINGAPORE: A foreign domestic helper who refused to stay at home alone while her employers went overseas got to go on her own holiday as well.
In an anonymous post to Facebook page FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), the maid’s employer wrote that she and her family had planned to go overseas on a short family trip. However, she added that her helper did not want to stay in their house alone so “we will treat her to a holiday at a place of her interest somewhere else”.
She also wrote that she would be giving her maid paid leave and covering the cost of her flight tickets as well. “Any idea if we should also cover her accommodation? This is on top of her fully paid home leave which we have already approved. What is your arrangement for helper when employer goes overseas for holiday?” the woman asked netizens in her post.
Other helpers who commented on the post said that they would either stay home and do some light cleaning or go on leave to their hometowns. Some also said that they would be sent to their agencies temporarily.
Here’s what they said:
Last week, a group of maids called out an employer online who said she would only take her helper on holiday if their contracts were renewed. In an anonymous post to Facebook page FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), the employer wrote that her maid had been working with the family for over a year. “we are thinking of bringing her on holiday with us next month, on condition that she renew her contract with some adjustment and increment”, she wrote, asking netizens when she should start to discuss contract renewal with her maid.
Other helpers in the group pointed out that the employer’s terms were unfair, as though when the family was on vacation, the helper would still be required to work while she was with them. /TISG