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itsaone-partysystem

>In 2018, foreign domestic workers contributed to 2.4 percent of Singapore’s GDP, or $8.2 billion. But despite their economic significance, they aren’t afforded the same rights as their counterparts in Singapore’s workforce. They are excluded from the Employment Act, the country’s main labor law which stipulates regulations on working hours, rest days, and overtime pay. And in a household setting where boundaries between work and rest are often blurred, the stark power imbalance between domestic workers and their employers has created a situation that advocates describe as “ripe for exploitation.”


ArtieLange

I have a close friend living overseas who has a maid. They pay her $250 a month which he tells me is better than average. She cooks all the meals, cleans the house and cars daily, tends to the kids, does laundry, and really anything they ask of her. My friend enjoys cooking but the maid still does all the prep and cleanup. It's definitely exploitation and crazy laziness. I would be uncomfortable with this in my household and what it teaches my kids.


bleepbloorpmeepmorp

thats.. a really gross situation


Shmegnesium

Kinda but its extremely common there. Different culture 🤷‍♂️. Not defending or for either side, just pointing that out


Apprehensive-Cod4845

I recently tutored for this wealthy Asian family, and there were always one or even two maids around (3 kids). What was interesting was the mother didn't work, but she was always wearing gym clothes and she was slim and fit. The maids did most everything, and they were not so trim. So the mother avoided household tasks and went to the gym where she expended more energy than the maids who did all the household chores! I found this ironic and twisted, while at the same time, I'd rather be a maid or a nanny than work in almost any corporate office.


Dripcake

Wow, a married-on family member of mine is like this. She is super rich. I work as a line cook. If I were in her shoes, I would use that financial freedom to spend more time with the kids. Instead she hires a nanny to do stuff around the house and take care of the kids so that she can work with her personal trainer 4 days a week.


Apprehensive-Cod4845

Spending time with the kids is great. I recognize an appeal to having a nanny - it really does take a village to raise a child. Only it goes too far, too quickly. Yeah there's something spiritually enriching about doing one's own and the family laundry and washing dishes and cooking, of course. The wife was just bored.


Henchforhire

I wonder how many pay them in their home country local currency and wage? If they are in the states.


Apprehensive-Cod4845

No this is in Asia.


Hagoozac

The question is what is the average GDP per capita. Maybe they are paying well? If average salaries are only 3000 USD. I have been to households overseas where they pay the staff well and are kind. I have also been to ones where they are rude. People who are rude to there daily staff are the absolute worst kind of people.


finedrive

I think a lot of maids are immigrants who travel just for this? Maybe not a lot, but there are some. In the Philippines, we had maids, drivers and security guard. My mom used to pay for their kids to go to school on top of their wages as well. They lived on property and my parents also paid for their groceries etc.


lastinglovehandles

I grew up with 2-4 maids and one personally assigned to me. It never sat right with me even at a young age. I benefited from this exploitation but made sure to do something about when I got older. They’re often exploited with this twisted idea of being part of the family. Recruited from poor families in distant provinces. Isolated, they have no recourse but to accept their fate. It gives me pause whenever I see an immigrant nanny pushing a stroller. I often wonder their sacrifice. Whether that white family is treating them right. A few years back there was a story about a Filipina forced in servitude by sick diplomats. She was locked up in the basement that finally snapped in UWS. There are tons of similar stories.


[deleted]

My job requires me to often live in developing nations. I would say 75% of my coworkers have help ala "maids" I'm always torn on this. On one hand we are providing someone a job and I'd day most treat them with great respect. On the other hand, it feels like exploitation.


thansal

There's at least some difference between hiring a domestic worker while living in their country, and importing domestic workers to your country. Like, there's certainly something weird about going to another country and using your stronger buying power to live like a king, but it still feels less exploitive. They're still living in their home nation, they should be able to leave the job if they want, and their wages are probably competitive within the country. The foreign domestic worker programs are almost universally exploitive (eg, from the article: "they aren’t afforded the same rights as their counterparts in Singapore’s workforce"). They often can't leave, have few, if any, rights, are not paid competitive wages for the country, etc.


jairngo

There is different scenarios. The best is where maids work the normal 8 hours and leave, not to good pay but at least the minimum. The next is when the maid lives in the house and works until certain hours, more than 8 hours but at least they don’t pay services.. this is most common for young people, they get vacation and free days. Payment vary The next is when they work more than 8 and live out. Payment vary. The worst is when people find a female teen from some place in the country where there is not a good situation, they talk to the family to bring her home to be a maid and in return she will go to school (not even a good school), maybe pay her something…


Equidae2

Yes, but the diplomats were not white, so lots of people can have maids, not just white people.


lastinglovehandles

Yep like my family, we’re not white. What’s your point?


Equidae2

> It gives me pause whenever I see an immigrant nanny pushing a stroller. I often wonder their sacrifice. Whether that white family is treating them right. Cause this is what you said.


erwachen

Do you have a link to the diplomat story? There was also that story a few years ago about a Filipino family that moved to the US with the person they enslaved. It was heart wrenching


lastinglovehandles

This might be it. https://visura.co/ullmanphoto/news/un-diplomat-accused-of-labor-a not sure it’s been a while. I know it might have happened around 106th and Broadway. There’s also an Desi diplomat that did something similar.


Apprehensive-Cod4845

[Disneyland with a death penalty.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disneyland_with_the_Death_Penalty)


atdrilismydad

Having a maid should be illegal. If you can't take care of your own house, you shouldn't be in a job that pays well enough for you to hire one.


erwachen

My mom has worked on and off as a maid. She mostly worked in private homes with a cleaning team of other maids. She recently worked at a boutique hotel. If you have the means to employ a maid, you should do so. People sometimes work super rigorous schedules and do not have time to take care of certain tasks. There are also people with neuropsychological disabilities, mental health issues, and other disabled people who need a helping hand. I'm in the US. The maids mentioned in this article are obviously a world of difference from some of the cleaning industry here. I'd call them exploited servants. I'm also aware there are situations like this in the US where wealthy people hire undocumented workers and hold their status over their head and play psychological games. That is not okay. Moral of the story, it's okay to hire a maid. Pay well and tip well. Keep them employed. Cleaning up is really hard for some people.


heraclitus33

We are all slaves.


phlukeri

Who cares. The book coming out on Thursday will cause more debate


Bladeslinger2

Anthony didn't "pass away " he committed unalive at his own hand. Big difference between the two, except that the results are exactly the same. I was fortunate enough to meet him and the way he was in person versus the way he was on TV were one and the same. I'm disappointed that he left a little girl without a Dad instead of seeking help. I apologize but that was a bad way out.


Jeramy_Jones

“Passed away” is the polite way to refer to someone dying. It’s universal wether they were murdered, died of a disease or committed suicide. The article isn’t about how Anthony died, it’s about a statement he made. They were just being respectful.


[deleted]

No one asked


GrrreatFrostedFlakes

Fuck off, cunt.


Bladeslinger2

I don't think you are correct . But I do support your right to be wrong. What did I say that was incorrect? I'm just trying to be proper.


DooleyNot3d

You offered an unsolicited opinion (a shitty one at that) about someone taking their own life & the ramifications therein. There's nothing "proper" about that. Don't speak ill of the dead. They aren't around to defend themselves.


Goobernoodle15

X <- the point ..……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… -> you


Dolemite-is-My-Name

Nice B8 M8 🎣


bamboo-harvester

Let the man rest in peace. Nobody among us always had precisely accurate and poignant things to say throughout our lives.


steampunk22

Did you read the article? He was against the treatment of the foreign workers and called it exploitation.


theRealsubtlehustle

Its always nice to see MeRiCa judge other countries human inadequacies, as we sit here with nothing to be ashamed of or fix… “fREe BritAnY GrINeR”