Match maids' skills, aptitude to employers' needs

Match maids' skills, aptitude to employers' needs
By John Gee, For The Straits Times
Apr 26, 2010

A DOMESTIC worker newly arrived in Singapore returned to her agency after five days with a household that did not give her any food at all. Finding that at her next placement she was expected to put up with being slapped and poked by the employers' unruly children, she went back to her agency within weeks. It was third time lucky for her: She finally found a considerate employer who paid her on time, saw that she had enough food and rest, and who had well-behaved children.

Another worker reported being hit by one of her employer's sons. She returned to her agency just weeks after her placement.

One maid got along well with most members of her employer's family, but when the children were at school and the parents at work, an elderly male relative followed her around the house and touched her. She did not know what to say to the family, so she just said that she was not happy and wanted to leave. They were left with no explanation for her 'strange behaviour'.

These are reasons why domestic workers encountered by Transient Workers Count Too left their employers within a short time of being hired. Similar stories would be familiar to anyone who has worked with domestic workers over some years. More common are complaints by workers about employers who expect them to work long hours, often 15 or more a day. Some say that their work is excessive: They are expected to cook, clean a big house and care for a family with both young children and elderly relatives.

Some employers think that they are being smart when they hire a maid and then get her to clean a relative's house as well as their own, though this is considered illegal. Often when these workers want to leave their employers, they are described as 'choosy'.

Some maids claim their agencies know that particular clients are unreasonable or worse, but they nevertheless place domestic workers with them knowing that they will soon be back. They make more money by charging for the original placement, for a transfer fee and for a replacement maid.

It is only fair to add that others report more positive experiences at the hands of agents, including those who were conscientious in not charging them for a transfer when the employer was clearly responsible for a placement not working out.

These are the factors, from the workers' perspectives, behind the recently revealed statistic that 28 per cent of employers terminated their contracts with their domestic workers within three months of taking them on.

A recurring problem is a mismatch of expectations between workers and employers. Foreign workers in general are lured to Singapore by recruiters' talk of good money, working hours and conditions. The reality sometimes disappoints. It is a rude awakening, but a worker who has been shouldered with debts to the tune of eight months' salary is not able to say that she would rather go home.

Most maids are given training that equips them to be general house workers. They receive instruction in childcare and elderly care, but the training is not intensive.

Singapore's policy is that families are not authorised to hire a foreign domestic worker simply because they feel like having someone to do their housework. To obtain a work permit, they should show that they have a credible need - the care of young children, elderly or disabled relatives. This may be convenient justifications for obtaining a domestic worker, but for most, the reason is exactly as they say. It is frequently essential to hire help if a couple with dependants both wish or need to go out to work.

The idea of having a worker who can handle all domestic tasks may be appealing to such employers, but their primary need may really be someone who has specialised training or aptitude for childcare or elderly care. The result may be a disappointment for employers and maids alike, for justified reasons in each case. It is the situation they are in that is the problem, not the individuals themselves.

There ought to be more transparency brought to the process of recruitment and placement, so that potential workers can gain a good sense of training possibilities, what they will be expected to do, work conditions, how much placement will cost them, and their rights and protections. Then they can make informed decisions.

This will take regional cooperation and efforts at outreach by the authorities and non-governmental organisations in all the countries concerned.

There needs to be a more targeted approach to training and placement. Workers who feel that they can make a commitment to look after the elderly, for example, should receive training that focuses on elderly care. They should be assisted by agencies to find placements with families who want workers with this specialised training.

Employers may need to think more carefully about what is their main reason for taking on a worker and concentrate on finding one who meets that need.

It follows that they have to be prepared to accept that their worker may not be so proficient in tasks outside her speciality, and that they should be prepared to pay more for a skilled worker. But the outcome should be happier employers and employees - and fewer parting of ways within days of a placement.

The writer is president of Transient Workers Count Too, an advocacy group for migrant workers.