A foreign domestic worker took to social media to write about the physically draining days she has had during her two months working in Singapore. In a rather heartbreaking post, the helper who went by the name of J on Facebook wrote that her employer would make her clean the whole house daily by hand.
In her post, on April 20 on Facebook page FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), she shared that she called her employer ‘Ahma’. Ms J wrote that she had to mop the first and second floors of the house by hand daily, and the third floor of the house once a week. She wrote that this task was not communicated to her during the initial interview.
She added: “Then the problem is my back hurts, my knees has bruises .. And my hands are numbing”. She added that as she lay in bed at night, her arms would often be numb, and her fingers would be numb.
She also wrote that for the next few weeks, her arms would be numb and even touching anything would cause pain in her wrists.
Ms J asked fellow domestic workers for advice and wondered if she should even be telling her employers about it as she feared being sent back to her home country.
Though her post was written on April 20, it was reshared on the group’s page in May.
Here are some of the comments from other foreign domestic helpers:
In the comments, Ms J also revealed that her agent was no better than her employers either. She said that her agent kept shouting at and scolding her for no reason. Ms J wrote: “Telling us stupid no common sense..shes manipulative. forced me to sign contract with out even reading it.bcos of her shouting and rushing me to take ballpen and sign i got panicked . I’ve been traumatized to go back at the agency my last choice is home”.
The Independent Singapore has reached out to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on the matter.
Previously, another foreign domestic worker took to social media to ask her friends for help when the family she was working for did not give her sufficient rest or privacy.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday (Apr 27), a netizen who went by the name Khriz Omandac Alabado wrote that she was sharing a problem her friend faced.
Ms Alabado shared her post to the Facebook group FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), where she wrote that her friend had been with her employer for four months.
Having to share a room with her employer’s daughter, the domestic helper wrote that the daughter would often come back home very late and switch on the room lights. The daughter would also listen to music or talk on the phone until 2 am or 3 am sometimes, Ms Alabado wrote. As a result, the domestic worker would often be without sufficient sleep or rest.
Asking for advice, the domestic helper said to Ms Alabado that she was afraid to inform her agency lest her employers send her back home.
Netizens who commented on the post unanimously advised the helper to talk to her employer and communicate her needs.
In another post, a foreign domestic worker asked if there were any consequences she would have to face for refusing to go with her employers on their holiday.
In a Facebook post on the group FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), a woman who gave her name as Deep Kaur posted this question on behalf of another domestic helper.
She wrote that the employers were going to India on vacation, and they wanted to bring their helper with them. But the helper did not want to go with them.
No reason was given for the domestic helper’s reluctance to go with them to India.
In her post, Ms Deep Kaur asked what might happen if the helper refuses to go. Though uncertain, she said that she did not think employers could force the helper to go with them.
“Should she explain her wish to them nicely?” Ms Deep Kaur writes.
She asked other domestic helpers and employers for their opinions: “I don’t know much about it. Can anyone explain what the helper can do in this situation and what is the best thing she should do?”
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