SINGAPORE: A foreign domestic helper took to social media after feeling that her working conditions were unsuitable for her. However, the reaction she got from other helpers and employers was far from sympathetic.
In an anonymous post to a Facebook support group for domestic helpers and their employers, the maid wrote that she had worked for her current boss for about five months. She said the last two months especially had been difficult on her. She said that her boss would shout at her daily, so she contacted her agent and requested a transfer.
However, her agent said the decision was up to the maid’s employer. The helper’s next move was to give her employer one month’s notice, but she was not sure if her employer would allow her to transfer or if they would send her back home.
The maid asked others in the group for advice as she wanted to stay and continue working in Singapore. Others in the group who commented on her post said that her situation was common and that her expectations sounded unrealistic. They explained that as long as she was not being abused, she should be able to take criticism and try to do her work to the best of her ability. Some even said that she was too demanding and that they would send her back home if they were her employers.
Here’s what they said:
A heavily pregnant employer took to social media for advice when her maid wanted to be sent back to her home country just because she got scolded. The employer said that because of the advanced stage of her pregnancy, it would be a huge inconvenience to find another maid, not to mention a waste of all her money.
In an anonymous post to a Facebook support group for helpers and employers alike, the employer wrote that her maid is a first-timer working in Singapore and was directly employed without an agent.