A foreign domestic helper being bossed around by another maid in the same household took to social media to share her woes and ask for advice on what to do.
In a Facebook post to a group for foreign domestic helpers called FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), a woman by the name of Deep Kaur wrote on behalf of her friend. Ms Kaur shared: “My friend joined a new employer and they are three helpers in the house. So the first helper is being bossy with my friend. Everyday argument happens and the home environment is being toxic for my friend”.
In her post on Tuesday (May 3), Ms Kaur added that her friend was so stressed out by the old helper that she even had thoughts of quitting her job.
Asking for advice, Ms Kaur wanted to know what her friend could do to handle the situation and have a good relationship with the other helper.
Here’s what the others said to her:
Last month, another foreign domestic worker wrote that she was at a loss for what to do after her employer told her that she had a ticket booked for her to be sent back to the Philippines the next day. In a post on Facebook group FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), a lady by the name of Majalia Padilla wrote that she was asking a question on behalf of a friend.
She wrote on Wednesday (Apr 27) that her friend, a foreign domestic worker, thought that her employers would release her from her existing contract. Ms Padilla said that her friend’s employers let her look for a new employer, but suddenly told her she was being sent back to the Philippines the very next day.
Ms Padilla asked if it was fair for employers to treat her this way and wanted to know if there was anything her friend could possibly do to remain in Singapore.
Yet another foreign domestic worker, the eldest of eight children, came to Singapore because even though she worked as a radio DJ back home, it was not enough to support her family.
Featured on Humans Of HOME, an organisation dedicated to improving the welfare and upholding the rights of migrant workers, Janet Remia Aclon Peremne shared her story, and how after working for decades in Singapore, she is now ready to retire.
She wrote that back home, her dream was “… to become a broadcast journalist. I left college and took a job to support my parents. Between work and studies, I was still able to become a DJ and started apprenticing at a local radio station where I was eventually hired”.
She added that her salary as a DJ was not enough to support both herself and her parents, so when the opportunity arose for her to come to Singapore, she took it even though she had reservations.
Another post in the Facebook group saw a domestic helper checking with other helpers if they have to work on their days off, as she is required to wake up at 5:45 am every day, vacuum and mop the floor and empty the rubbish – even on her supposed day off.
In a post on Facebook group FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), Ms Iradiel Augustin Rafelyn asks if others are also treated the same as she is on what is supposed to be her one day of rest in the week.