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Found this video on youtube which I thought would be very useful for employers, maids or anyone who is interested to know more about the maid industry. While the video was filmed some time ago, I feel that it is still very relevant today.

Click here to see the video on youtube…

Disclaimer: This is NOT a recommendation for the agencies mentioned in the video. You use them at your own discretion.

Singapore maid abuse? Employer abuse? Agency abuse? Thought this would make an interesting topic since I finally have some time to write (it’s school holiday for the kids finally!)

Singapore Maid Abuse?

Most of us read about the typical maid abuse cases in the newspapers. The maid may be punched in the face or scorched with boiling water, but have you ever wondered about the unreported cases? While these are not physical abuse per se, they do affect the girls’ well-being to a certain extent.

Just recently, the Philippines has tightened the “release” of girls to work as maids in other countries. From my discussions with the girls and people in the industry, many employers have picked up on this and directly or indirectly “threatened” the girl to send them back if they do not improve on their work or if they did something wrong.

Some girls who were unhappy about their current jobs were also afraid to seek work with new employers for fear of “revenge” by the employers for not staying with them.

While the MOM has regulations about verbal abuse, this kind of “mental” abuse is too “intangible”. As such, quite a number of girls were distressed by the situation but were quite helpless to do anything about it.

Is this maid abuse of some form? All we can do is to appeal to the employers to think about the girl’s family back home waiting for her remittance to feed them. They are as human as we are, so shouldn’t they be given a second chance?

Employer Abuse?

Some cases I remember were: (1) a maid breaking her employer’s baby’s arm or leg; (2) a maid murdering an old lady, and (3) a maid putting bleach into the contact lens solution of her employer. I must add that these are not just abuse, they are criminal acts against the employers!

While these are rare cases, there is always a possibility that it may happen to anyone. This is especially the case if one is extremely temperamental and behaves in an aggressive manner towards the girl. Remember, they are foreign domestic workers, not slaves! They deserve respect too.

Let’s look at it this way… most of the maids do not know anyone here. Most agencies would advise them to do their best and finish their contracts. But, sometimes, something happens that just makes the girl snap. To some of them, the anger of being bullied and the thought of revenge got the better of them, and they chose to do what they did.

As such, I feel that employers should keep one eye closed to certain matters and not “push it”. You really wouldn’t know what is the limit of each maid, and you definitely do not want to find out. It is a balancing act, no doubt, but a necessity, especially if you leave your young children in the girl’s care while the family is out to work.

Agency Abuse?

Sometimes, I feel that the maid agencies in Singapore have the toughest role to play. We are highly regulated by the MOM and at the same time, many employers are “perfectionists” who wants all the maids to work out perfectly - a little bit of problem, they will complain first.

Moreover, some employers really look down on people working in maid agencies, as if we are some form of low life. In actual fact, we are providing a much needed service to the community. How else can many Singaporeans go to work when there is no helper at home to help out with taking care of the children and household chores?

There is a Chinese saying that there is no “cheap” or “expensive” job, but whether you do a good job.

I venture to say that many maid agencies in Singapore are probably doing their best to serve the community. However, people have to understand that many of our foreign domestic workers are new to you and Singapore, and they may not know your way of doing things. As such, please do not “abuse” the agencies if things do not work out your way.

All in all, I feel that all three parties - the maid, the employer and the agency really have to put in an effort to make the stay of the maid in Singapore pleasant while making sure that the employers’ needs are met. As for the agency, I am thankful if a day goes by without complaints from the employers…

With effect from 1 January 2010, the medical insurance coverage of domestic helpers, FDWs or maids will be increased to $15,000, instead of the usual $5,000 coverage.

Needless to say, the insurance premium would also increase to reflect the higher cost of insurance. Across the board, the general increase is in the region of $50 to $100.

This is pretty much in line with the reduction in government assistance for foreign workers in general in terms of medical expenses. At the same time, this also helps reduce the risk of employers of maids. Why do I say so?

In my line of work, I’ve come across some unfortunate cases whereby the employers had to bear substantial cost, in the region of $20,000 to $50,000 depending on what happened to the girl.

One case, in particular, was really unfortunate. A helper had severe stomach pain and was diagnosed with ****. (To protect the privacy of my clients, I will not be revealing any details and I may modify some of the facts. However, the key points and facts will remain as they are.)

But, what was shocking was that the girl had to undergo a major operation and she had to be hospitalised for a significant period of time. The medical bill was estimated to be in the region of $35,000.

To make matters worse, the illness was diagnosed to be a pre-existing medical condition. As such, it was not covered under the insurance plan.

As a side note, so that you understand why a pre-existing medical condition is generally excluded automatically - the rationale is that no insurer will take on anyone, for instance, with cancer. Nor, would anyone with cancer, declare that he has cancer because no insurer will take him up.

So as to reduce the general cost of insurance, the pre-existing medical condition exclusion is instituted across the board for practically all insurance types, including maid insurance. This is because, if the insurer knows that the incumbent has cancer, they will either increase the insurance premium significantly or not take on the case at all.

So, coming back to the case. Basically, my client had to bear all the medical cost of the maid since it is one of the MOM conditions of employment for the maid.

Needless to say, if the case wasn’t that of a pre-existing condition, there will be a coverage of $5,000 under the old insurance scheme. With the new scheme, the coverage will be $15,000.

At least, my client will be covered for $15,000 under the new scheme.

However, there are also insurance plans with higher coverage which she could have opted for under the new insurance plans which may well cover all her exposure to her maid being sick.

All in all, the new insurance scheme seeks to reduce the risk of employers of maids. However, it also increases the cost of employing a maid. Unfortunately, if the maid has a pre-existing medical condition, no amount of insurance can help.

Perhaps, to reduce their risk significantly, employers should consider having their maids undergo a full body checkup before employment and not the current partial checkup. Now, that may be something to think about if a few hundred dollars of expenses maybe able to prevent tens of thousands of dollars of heartache later on…