Maid whose contract is ending wants an extra day off to reconsider staying, employer refuses, offers monetary compensation instead
SINGAPORE — A foreign domestic worker whose 2-year contract will end in February next year wanted an additional day off in order to stay on and continue working for her current employers.
In an anonymous post to Facebook group FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), the helper’s employer asked what she could offer the maid instead of an additional day off. The employer wrote that she was keen on keeping her maid after the contract ended. “I understand that she is looking at 2 days off per month instead of 1 and she’s keen to attend English lessons on weekends. However, my hubby is self-employed and work freelance hence he will usually need to work on weekends whenever he is called to”.
‘My parents bought their first place at S$100k, 30 years later, something similar is being sold for $1.6 million’
When a Singapore Reddit user asked if young adults in the country are worried about the affordability of housing prices, many netizens joined the discussion, with a number of them remarking on how different things are today from when their parents first started out.
“Watched the recent the daily ketchup episode on property pricing and have to agree with most of what was discussed. As a single myself, I wonder where I am going to end up 5-7 years down the road. Am I even able to afford a hdb given how much prices have gone up while our salary has pretty much stagnated in the past 20 years,” wrote Nunububumemo on r/singapore on Tuesday (Dec 13).
Ho Ching: Buying HDB flat with lump sum payment is like paying rent without inflation for decades; keeps housing cost low
SINGAPORE — Chairman of Temasek Trust Ho Ching recently joined the topic of Housing & Development Board (HDB) affordability in a lengthy Facebook post explaining why buying an HDB flat is like paying rent without inflation.
She noted that a S$360,000 three-room flat with 60 years left on the lease is like paying S$500 a month rental over 720 months. Today’s dollar means we haven’t factored in inflation, she added. “By paying upfront, we more or less assure ourselves that we continue to have a roof over our heads and a home even as our incomes decline post-retirement.”
Maid asks when should her employer send her back to the agency before cancelling her work permit
A maid whose work permit was about to be cancelled took to social media asking when an employer should turn their helper over to the agency.
In her post, the maid wrote: “I just want to ask, when is the right time for employer to turn over her helper to agency. The cancellation of her work permit is Dec 24. Thank you”.
Customer complains about being charged 50 cents for glass of water, coffee shop owners explain why
One Serangoon coffee shop owner Mr Zhang, 60, responded to an online post from a customer who was charged 50 cents for a glass of water. The coffee shop owner told Shin Min Daily News that he used to charge 40 cents for water but has raised the price lately due to today’s high electric and water tariffs, adding that workers’ salaries also need to be paid.
Shin Min Daily News also heard from other coffee shop owners that some people take advantage of free water. “These people buy boiled water and brew their own tea, then occupy seats for hours, leaving no seats for other customers. It’s affecting our business,” Ms Li, a coffee shop owner, told the Chinese-language daily.