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Suspect my maid has hp, advice needed

Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 10:03 pm
by clioclio
Hello fellow KS parents,
I need some advice.
My Indo FDW has worked for me more than 18 months. She has been pretty good, helping me with housework plus looking after my 3 young kids. As understood in r contract, she is not allowed to have a handphone. She actuallly asked me a few months back if she could have a hp, but i told her no, but we can discuss after she finish her 2 yrs with us.

today, when i was out with my kids, my eldest girl (5 yrs old) told me that 'auntie has a pink phone!" I was surprised and asked if it was a 'toy' phone..she said, 'no, its a real phone..i ask auntie to call me, etc".
*SIAN* ...i don't know if i should take my girl's word seriously.

Just now while my maid was in the toilet, i checked her stuff..found one of our many hp chargers tucked in between her jeans, plus a 'Kupon Gold Rp50,000" phone card inside the pocket. --anyone familiar with that?
It says 'Scratch the code shield with coin to get the 12 digit pin, the type SMS to Singapore number blah blah blah so that can sms to Indonesia. So i sppose this can only be used with a Handphone???

So, using circumstanial evidence, can i conclude that 99% she has a phone???
She always stay in the toilet for very long time, sometimes can be as long as 20 mins. I ask her what's she doing inside, 99.999% she will tell me she got stomach ache. Come on, stomach ache at the same time everyday?!!?! Just now i was quite angry i asked her again, what she's doing inside, again she said 'nothing, stomach ache...need to go toilet.!

Actually she has been quite good in our house so far, but i think too long with us also too familiar already. If she really has a hp, and using it in the toilet, I also have to resign myself to it right, coz i still need a maid :sad: If she is just using it when she is in the toilet, its usually when all my kids are having afternoon nap or at night when all the kids are in bed. So technically she is not using the phone at the expense of thekids.

But I feel that it is a matter of principle. Since i already told her no hp, if she went on to get it i am very disappointed. My mum's take is, 'i need her so if i confront her and if she really has a hp, what am i going to do? Will i go all the way and fire her? Can i afford to do tt?" If i cant, i just have to 'close one eye'. Should I do that?

Just now i was quite angry (at her being in the toilet so long) so i asked v sternly what is she doing in the toilet so long! I think she quite taken aback (defensive?) and then said she ddidn do anything. I told her if she is doing something i asked her not to do and she did it i will be very angry and that's the end (i don'yt know if she got my lousy hint).

If u were in my shoes, will you just move on 'close one eye', or .....?

In my hurry to rummage her stuff, her 'top up card' is with me... didn have time to put it back in her jeans pocket. Oops. She will know i took it out... how....help!

Re: Suspect my maid has hp, advice needed

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 12:07 am
by Ichigokun
clioclio wrote:Hello fellow KS parents,
I need some advice.
My Indo FDW has worked for me more than 18 months. She has been pretty good, helping me with housework plus looking after my 3 young kids. As understood in r contract, she is not allowed to have a handphone. She actuallly asked me a few months back if she could have a hp, but i told her no, but we can discuss after she finish her 2 yrs with us.

today, when i was out with my kids, my eldest girl (5 yrs old) told me that 'auntie has a pink phone!" I was surprised and asked if it was a 'toy' phone..she said, 'no, its a real phone..i ask auntie to call me, etc".
*SIAN* ...i don't know if i should take my girl's word seriously.

Just now while my maid was in the toilet, i checked her stuff..found one of our many hp chargers tucked in between her jeans, plus a 'Kupon Gold Rp50,000" phone card inside the pocket. --anyone familiar with that?
It says 'Scratch the code shield with coin to get the 12 digit pin, the type SMS to Singapore number blah blah blah so that can sms to Indonesia. So i sppose this can only be used with a Handphone???

So, using circumstanial evidence, can i conclude that 99% she has a phone???
She always stay in the toilet for very long time, sometimes can be as long as 20 mins. I ask her what's she doing inside, 99.999% she will tell me she got stomach ache. Come on, stomach ache at the same time everyday?!!?! Just now i was quite angry i asked her again, what she's doing inside, again she said 'nothing, stomach ache...need to go toilet.!

Actually she has been quite good in our house so far, but i think too long with us also too familiar already. If she really has a hp, and using it in the toilet, I also have to resign myself to it right, coz i still need a maid :sad: If she is just using it when she is in the toilet, its usually when all my kids are having afternoon nap or at night when all the kids are in bed. So technically she is not using the phone at the expense of thekids.

But I feel that it is a matter of principle. Since i already told her no hp, if she went on to get it i am very disappointed. My mum's take is, 'i need her so if i confront her and if she really has a hp, what am i going to do? Will i go all the way and fire her? Can i afford to do tt?" If i cant, i just have to 'close one eye'. Should I do that?

Just now i was quite angry (at her being in the toilet so long) so i asked v sternly what is she doing in the toilet so long! I think she quite taken aback (defensive?) and then said she ddidn do anything. I told her if she is doing something i asked her not to do and she did it i will be very angry and that's the end (i don'yt know if she got my lousy hint).

If u were in my shoes, will you just move on 'close one eye', or .....?

In my hurry to rummage her stuff, her 'top up card' is with me... didn have time to put it back in her jeans pocket. Oops. She will know i took it out... how....help!
Just let her use her phone la. She's not in North Korea you know, whereby no phones are allowed.

Why can't she have a phone in the first place? Human rights are important. You sound as if you are imprisoning her in your house.

Your Indonesian maid travelled more than 200km from Indonesia, of course she would miss her family, friends and relatives!

Just allow her to have a phone. And, you should allow her to use the phone without hiding. Hiding in a cramped space like the toilet for hours to use her phone is plain torture.

You know the other day I was outside and then I saw this primary two kid having his own phone. It was a HTC some more.

This is what I think la, even small children have phones today, why not maids?

To put it simply, allow her to have a phone. At least give her a bit of freedom right... :wink:

Re: Suspect my maid has hp, advice needed

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 12:27 am
by smartmummy
I can allow her to use in otherwords i allow her to talk to family not with bf in Singapore.we pity them but they will take advantage and cheat us like not doing their work properly.do u allow her to talk to her family?if not allow her to talk infant of u, but once in a week.

Re: Suspect my maid has hp, advice needed

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 12:41 am
by Zanonbu
You forbid your maid to have a phone? what do you think she is, a slave?

Re: Suspect my maid has hp, advice needed

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 8:54 am
by Ichigokun
Zanonbu wrote:You forbid your maid to have a phone? what do you think she is, a slave?
I know right. Maid with no phone allowed sounds like maid abuse

Re: Suspect my maid has hp, advice needed

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 8:57 am
by Ichigokun
smartmummy wrote:I can allow her to use in otherwords i allow her to talk to family not with bf in Singapore.we pity them but they will take advantage and cheat us like not doing their work properly.do u allow her to talk to her family?if not allow her to talk infant of u, but once in a week.
Once a week? I think once in two days is better. Every two days at the end of the day when you come back from work, you ask her to come to the living room to use her phone, sitting on the sofa.

Then you monitor her closely and who is she speaking to from where you are at. The kitchen or sth.

Re: Suspect my maid has hp, advice needed

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 11:45 am
by alng
I will even sponsor a certain amount of her phone charges monthly. If I have to rely on her to take care of my three kids, 5 yo being the eldest, I better be very very nice to her so that she will take good care of my kids.

Don't our bosses treat us super nice when they need us? :-)

Re: Suspect my maid has hp, advice needed

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 1:06 pm
by Vfatmum
My phili maid has two phone , one for local one to call or SMS
Family in her country . However she knows she can use only at night when everyone
Take dinner at 730pm. I rather I know she has a phone than she hides in the toilet , it became a habit . But I told her she wants phone can , she paid for her top up and I will text her or call when I need . But usually I pay her each month 20$ extra for all these miscellaneous . She will be home sick if she has no revenue of
Communication with family. But do set ground rules . No using of phone when cooking or taking care of kids as it need full attentions !

Re: Suspect my maid has hp, advice needed

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 8:03 pm
by POA Teacher
What's the problem here? :? You have a maid who takes good care of your family and home. :rahrah:
She needs a phone to communicate with her friends and especially with her family. Let her have a handphone, or use the house phone.
My maid hardly ever uses the old handphone I gave her. But she's on the house phone, often several times a week She buys a Singtel card for making overseas call from the house phone.

Re: Suspect my maid has hp, advice needed

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 8:08 pm
by verykiasu2010
at first no phone

then allowed to use house phone

then allowed to own a mobile phone

then spending more and more time on the mobile phone, locked in the toilet

then spending more and more time on the phone, sms-ing, chatting, morning, afternoon, evening, late at night, well past mind-nite .....

then house work standard got worse and worse and cut corners

then spending more and more $$ on phone card / prepay cards

then monthly salary no longer enough to pay for phone bills

then borrow $$ from other maids

then borrow $$ from other people / foreign workers

then start to steal money from employers .......

slippery slope of having a mobile phone ? lack of civil liberty for the maid ? lack of freedom ?

the above are true stories ..... 3 out 5 maids will have such problems, statistically