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Maid issue : MOM came & took maid away

Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 11:39 pm
by pat3
Today, 3 Ministry of Manpower officers came to my house and bring away my maid, causing much inconvenience just because my maid don’t feel like to work for me. Just this simple reason. Did they try to mediate between us (my maid and me)? No and the reason they gave is since the maid don’t feel like to work for us, we cannot force her and have to let her go with the help from MOM. There is no counseling, no mediation, no explanation from us, simply listen and follow the maid wishes with backing from MOM, we have to let her go…that’s simple.

Did the MOM think for me? I have 2 young children, 1 eight yrs old and the other 5 yrs old. Who have to make arrangement for them without the maid? I have. If that’s the case, don’t always urge us to give birth to babies and yet, help is so vulnerable…maid says don’t want to work and immediately go to agency, leaving us to think how to cope and manage….is this fair to us? Does the miserable baby bonus help us to take care of all these? No and luckily, I only have 2 children and decided to stop…it will be worse if I have 3 or more children…coping work and family is no joke.

Although my maid suppose to care for my 2 children, she still need my help and until now, 13 months with us, the maid never once cook a full meal for me or my children. I still have to cook for her.

The funny part is under the work permit act, even if my maid is the one requesting for a transfer, I have to bear her accommodation, meal and levy at full cost before she transfer. If she requests to go home before her 2-year contract is up, we also have to bear the air ticket for her, according to work permit act. What if we sign 2 year contract with a company, we will need to be penalized if we leave earlier than the contact. Why maid is so protected???? Do not need to fulfil the 2 years contract and at point, she has the right to call it quit without any penalty, cost and serving notice period!!!!!! If there is such a company, please recommend to me and I will jump into it without fail…..

If every maid like her, I will be very busy. I asked the officers, MOM discourages us to change maid frequently – too frequent, we need to be interviewed. If maid complains to MOM and asked for a transfer, we are also being questioned. What is the protection for us, employers?

I asked the agency. For the new maid, I have to pay a salary increase of more than 10% for a fresh maid with no experience, in addition to insurance and agency fee. In addition, we have to train them at least 6 months. As a professional working in the society, my yearly increment is only 3% to 5%, worse than a maid and if I change a job, I will be expected to perform immediately. So, why maid has such a privilege. Are we Singapore citizen better off than foreign labor? No, even if we don’t like to work in a company, we still require to provide notice period but maid don’t need, a word and she can go…..

If maid salary increases at such a high rate, we should expect a better quality maid. Yet, the maid we hire is getting worse and worse and we pay more and more…..Is there fairness? If the maid is paid that high, at least she must produce a certain quality standard…who set the standard? Nobody!!! The quality of maid we hire over the years are getting worse and worse.

What is our protection as an employer? How MOM protect us? Is there a balance between the maid and us? I write in to voice my feedback and my disappointment on the how the whole issue is resolved.

Re: Maid issue

Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 12:40 am
by Jav
What's the reason maid does not want to work ? How long notice she has given ?

Re: Maid issue

Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 8:23 am
by jtoh
Why is MOM involved in this issue? Did the maid run away or complain to MOM? My understanding is MOM will interview the maid first at their HQ if there's a complaint. They won't just show up and take the maid away.

Re: Maid issue

Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 8:47 am
by verykiasu2010
basically the maid has more human rights than the employer in singapore - with all sorts of protection

within a few weeks of arrival in singapore, MOM call them up for confidential interview in their own language .........

this statement will make a lot of anti-foreigner singaporeans happy

Re: Maid issue

Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 11:05 am
by MrsSeah
Did the maid mentioned to you that she doesn't want to work for you before? How is her performance with you during the 1 yr ++. Did she always have attitute problem?

I am very shock if MOM just come to your house and get your maid thru 1 phone call from her without any check. :roll:

I also feel it is unfair for the employer to bear the air-ticket if it is the maid who break the contract within 2 years. :mad:

I feel that it is fairer if
1) maid get her own loan from their country to pay the agency instead of us paying for her first.
2) Maid pay for her own ticket back if she didn't fulfill her 2 years contract.
3) Maid should be the one bearing for the levy. I prefer to pay her higher salary than she bear the levy, so that it doesn't seem like we are underpaying the maid. :mad: Maid salary + levy is almost $700!!! A singaporean cleaner who worked at HDB flat, their salary is also around $750 (sweep 3 blocks) and they had to bear their own food and lodging. :razz:

I am happily willingly to pay the maid air ticket back if she fulfilled 2 years with me or I am the one who want to kick her out.

The maid have to bear some responsibility at their side too!!!

Re: Maid issue

Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 6:43 pm
by carebear
I have never heard MOM going to someone's house to get the maid!
Your maid must have called MOM?

Did your maid give you prior notice that she does not want to work for you?
Sometimes it is better to let her go if she is unwilling to work for you.

One of my Indon maids worked for me for less than a month and said she is not comfortable working for Chinese family, and her actual intention was to come to Singapore to look for her previous employer.

After the maid agency contacted her former employer, and confirmed that they already have a new maid and did want her, she still wanted a transfer, although I tried to compromise with her.

However, I asked her to stay with me till my new maid arrived, which could take up to 3 months and she agreed. It was a blessing in disguise as my then new maid, and now present maid is a good worker.

Re: Maid issue

Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 10:01 pm
by pat3
We definitely did not treat her a slave. We provide her a room to herself with air-con and we did not disturb her at all nights even when my children fell sick. I wash my own car, even when she offered to assist, I turned her down flatly.

During weekend, we brought her out for lunch at Swensen, Fish & Co, Seafood restaurants and international buffet dinner. I even bought her new clothes so that she also feel happy during the lunar new year. My family including me also bought her Xmas gifts and she always received gifts / souvenirs when we went overseas. However, do you know what happened, when she left yesterday, she refused to take all these gifts. My wife couldn’t sleep and cried through yesterday night. She told me that she was very hurt and disappointed.

For your info, this maid has numerous times crying to go home because she said that we cannot says she is no good. So saying she is no good means scolding her. We have to counsel and let her understand that if she did wrong, people will say her and that did not warrant a scold but until today, I realized that she is still very conscious about this point. She always threw tantrums and until a few days, she will be back to normal and smiles all day.

The 3 MOM officers told us that my maid has sent in a letter to them in Sept 2011, saying that she did not wish to work for us and the 3 MOM officers came to interview her behind closed door and told us that my maid did not wish to work and did not specify anything specific. If we did wrong, would we be here safely to converse with you??? We will be questioned by MOM!!!!

If I have treat my maid well enough, tell me how should I treat her? After 1 year with me and she still cannot work a proper meal and take care of my children which are the 2 main factors I hire her….Till now, my wife still cook for her and help her with the children as she simply cannot handle them at all. As a result, both my children are not close to her and not at all affect by her leaving.

Re: Maid issue

Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 10:08 pm
by znzyzyzx
Then it is a blessing in disguise for you that she has left. In fact , I feel that you should have let her leave right at the start when she wanted to leave. Why continue to keep her when she already 无心做? she became a burden, what for ?
pat3 wrote:We definitely did not treat her a slave. We provide her a room to herself with air-con and we did not disturb her at all nights even when my children fell sick. I wash my own car, even when she offered to assist, I turned her down flatly.

During weekend, we brought her out for lunch at Swensen, Fish & Co, Seafood restaurants and international buffet dinner. I even bought her new clothes so that she also feel happy during the lunar new year. My family including me also bought her Xmas gifts and she always received gifts / souvenirs when we went overseas. However, do you know what happened, when she left yesterday, she refused to take all these gifts. My wife couldn’t sleep and cried through yesterday night. She told me that she was very hurt and disappointed.

For your info, this maid has numerous times crying to go home because she said that we cannot says she is no good. So saying she is no good means scolding her. We have to counsel and let her understand that if she did wrong, people will say her and that did not warrant a scold but until today, I realized that she is still very conscious about this point. She always threw tantrums and until a few days, she will be back to normal and smiles all day.

The 3 MOM officers told us that my maid has sent in a letter to them in Sept 2011, saying that she did not wish to work for us and the 3 MOM officers came to interview her behind closed door and told us that my maid did not wish to work and did not specify anything specific. If we did wrong, would we be here safely to converse with you??? We will be questioned by MOM!!!!

If I have treat my maid well enough, tell me how should I treat her? After 1 year with me and she still cannot work a proper meal and take care of my children which are the 2 main factors I hire her….Till now, my wife still cook for her and help her with the children as she simply cannot handle them at all. As a result, both my children are not close to her and not at all affect by her leaving.

Re: Maid issue

Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 10:16 pm
by MrsSeah
Treat it as a blessing. It is better that she leave than she does something foolish to herself or your family. Hope you and your wife will feel better today. :)

Re: Maid issue : MOM came & took maid away

Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 11:06 pm
by MadScientist
IMHO, it is better that your maid leaves... although the way was rather abrupt.

Just move along as soon as possible and get a new one.

All the best!