Chai Siew Ling's!

(Note: Mr Chiong, I can't upload it using the website you gave us so i used youtube.com instead!)
ENJOY :)

THE PLIGHTS OF EMPLOYERS

Hi, this is Siew Ling and I’ll be touching on the employers’ plights because I feel that their plights have always been overlooked. In my opinion, an employer takes on the role of a guardian and is supposed to offer protection towards his/her domestic worker. In addition, they have to be responsible for the well being of their domestic workers, ensuring that they do not suffer any ill treatments. Therefore, being an employer actually comes with huge responsibilities. Yes, the well being of domestic workers are very important, but first and foremost, I believe that they have to learn to take care of themselves or not even their employer cannot take care of them.

Sometimes, when a maid gets herself pregnant or commit a crime, the fault may not lie entirely with her employer. Yes, her employer is supposed to watch over her behaviours but how do you expect them to watch over her every action? You can’t expect her employer to lock her up at home everyday in order to prevent her from indulging in immoral and unlawful behaviours! The amount of freedom and trust employers gives to their domestic workers should depend on the stability of their relationship. An analogy would be flying a kite, if you hold on to its string too tightly, it might snap, but if you do not have a proper hold over it, it might fly away.

Sometimes, domestic workers might sabotage their employer to gain something. Fingers will immediately be pointed at the employers because the domestic workers are clearly the more vulnerable party. There’s just as much the employers can do to prove themselves innocent. Foreign domestic workers are human beings like us; some may have ulterior motives to scam while others are more simple-minded. Employers are subjected to many dangers like false accusations or crimes committed in their homes when they are out. Sure, they may install surveillance cameras in their homes but you can’t expect to have every nook and cranny of the house under surveillance, can you? There is however a few measures employers can take to prevent themselves from falling into any traps or ploys set up by their workers.

Firstly, employers should have a healthy and respectful relationship with their workers whereby no hatreds or grudges exist. Secondly, employers should always be aware of their domestic workers’ activities outdoor. Lastly, employers should always be on the lookout for strange and suspicious behaviours their workers show. I believe that if all three measures are taken, this will decrease the chances of employers getting framed or cheated.

Now, let us hear from my first interviewee, James, a 19-year-old teenager whose previous maid attempted to runaway. His maid has been working for his family for 5 years.

My family once had a maid who worked for us for five years. We treated her very well and my parents even allowed her to keep her own passport, because they feel that everyone has the rights to keep their own passport. We all like her because she was very hardworking and respectful.


However, she tried to runaway on one occasion, while my family was sleeping. Unfortunately our dog got woken up and started barking when she was trying to climb over the main gate. My father immediately caught her and brought her to our living room to question her. It turned out that she wanted to runaway with this Thai worker she got to know from her friends! My parents were very angry of course, as they felt betrayed…

So we handed her back to the agency the next day. We treated her so well as though she was a part of our family, but she tried to get us into trouble by running away, of course we were all disappointed. Now, my parents keep my current maid’s passport.

I feel that every employer should hold onto their workers’ passports to prevent them from running away. I think the reason why my maid was so daring to runaway is because our family treated her too well and she thought that she could get away with it.

I think that employers shouldn’t treat their workers too well because there are some who just do not appreciate your kind intentions, like in my case. But that doesn’t mean that you should treat them badly too. Ummm Employers should treat them moderately well.

Lastly, let’s hear from my second interviewee, Janice Chua, a forty five year old employer who has a maid. Her maid has been working for her and her family for 15 years.

My Filipino maid has lived with my family and I for many years and she has watched my kids grew up. Everyone in my family is very attached to her and because she does not have a family in Philippines, she treats my kids like her own and is very close to them. Err yes, I do allow her to keep her passport because I trust that she will not run away.

I believe that the key ingredients into preventing your maid from committing any wrong doings would be trust, communication and respect. We have personal talks on a day-to-day basis and she’ll share with me her problems. On my part, I’ll try my best to help her if I can. We have a mutual trustful relationship and we respect each other’s privacy. I give her enough freedom like having a day off on every weekend and I make sure that she has enough rest every night.

After hearing the views of the two interviewees, I’ve found some similarities in their views and mine. We all believe that foreign domestic workers should be given their due respect and be treated equally just like any of us. However, employers should always be cautious about how well they treat them as being too nice might cause their our own downfalls.

If the foreign domestic workers want to be respected, they have to earn it, through being diligent or responsible. Similarly, employers should also be mindful of the way they treat their workers because “What goes around, comes around” and if they land themselves into pitiful situations because they treated their workers badly, I’d truly say they deserve it!