Seet Hui Tze: They are not animals, We are not slave drivers.

(in case it cannot be heard here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M_BWPCD_Jg)


There are so many headlines on our newspapers that report on maid abuse.

Too many, in fact.

Some on how the employers scald them, restrict them, treating them in worse ways than to an animal. On the other hand, there are some cases that have the unconventional victims – the employers. Some maids have stolen; others have framed the family with offences. However, more cases than none, they are not reported in papers or in any media form.

Mr. Patrick Kwek is a retiree who has a family of 6 and lives on landed property. He has had 8-10 maids, either Filipino or Indonesian, over a stretch of 30 years and he feels that initial friction is inevitable between employers and employees.
“Usually, it’s in the beginning you know, because the maid is new to you, so obviously it is a little more inconvenient. You got to train the maid, she has to get used to you, she has to get used to what your requirements are, so it is the initial stages of induction, so called. But once she gets used to the household, she gets used to you.”

He gave a little example of such,
“It’s not a problem I won’t say, it’s just part of training requirement you know. Like for example, after she packs your clothes, well, my family is a big family – about 6 or 7 of us at home, she would have to know whose clothes belong to whom and which clothes go to which wardrobe.”

He added that, overtime the relationship would get better, saying
“Essentially, it’s training and familarisation. After 2 months, 3 months, she’ll get better as time goes on.”

Maids that I had tried to interview declined to be named nor heard on this story, maybe being afraid to be recognized in any way and getting reprimanded from their employers. Let’s name them Siti and Vilma.

Siti is an Indonesian maid who has been working in Singapore for the past 1 year for a Chinese family of 4. She had mentioned to me that her Chinese employer’s elderly mother is fierce and expected her to know skills or house rules after being told or taught only once. The mother would turn very frustrated and had even spat on her. Sometimes Siti is woken up past 12 midnight because her employer’s son comes home late from work for dinner and she is expected to serve and clean up. After which she sleeps only about 2-3 more hours before waking up again to prepare breakfast. Until this time, she has not physically seen any money, she has earned, in her hands. Neither has she been let out of the house, even to pick up any letters. The reason is that, she thinks as quoted “Mam scared I run”. When telling her story to me, her eyes welled up with tears.

Vilma is a Filipino maid who has worked here for 3 years. She also works for a Chinese family of 3, who is the 2nd family she is working for in Singapore. Her employers are newly weds, who have a 5 month year old child. She is to place the child’s care as the highest priority; cooking and cleaning are secondary chores. As both her employers are working, they try to come back as early as possible to take over looking after the child, so that Vilma gets to do her other household work or to start cooking. Sometimes her employers bring her and their child, out for meals or even to shop. On her off days, she is allowed to stay home or inside her room to rest, without doing any housework or looking after the child. When she is looking sad or tired, her employers usually ask, being concerned about her well-being. She feels that she, as quoted, “will want to work longer after this contract with my mam and sir finish”.

While Vilma is happy to work here and stay, the reason why foreign workers like Siti stay on and bear with her employer’s ways, is because her family back in Indonesia needs the money.

Both of them work for similar families and are both of similar ages.
But why is it the disparity between them is so great?
But there has to be some way to reduce this gap.

Mr. Kwek felt that the attitude from the start has to be set right. He spoke,
“But firstly, I think you have to understand that these maids are here to make your lives easier. And the other thing, of course, is to remember that they are not slaves. So I think if you start with that attitude, you know, that they are here to make your life easier but they also have their limitations. And be fair to them and treat them in a decent way, by and large, if you can do that, there will be no problems.”

When asked what is the most important thing between an employer and a foreign domestic worker, he replied,
“Well I think it’s trust both ways. You have to trust the maid and the maid would have to trust that you are being fair to them, that you are treating them fairly and they are being, not exploited and that they are recognized in their work.”

Ultimately, employers have to understand that the maids are being employed for our benefit, to help out on chores that one does not want to do.
Sure we may be helping them get cash to aid their family financial crisis, but it does not entitle us to be slave drivers. Transparency and clear communication are two very important ideas to remember so as to reduce any possible misunderstandings or differential expectation levels that may escalate into a disaster. These foreign workers are not animals that would turn wild without ‘training’ or as some would say, ‘discipline’. They are people, like you and me, on a job to earn their keep.

This is Hui Tze, thank you for listening.