I started my Sunday scrabbling through broken cups, empty spirit bottles and upturned canapes in a hunt for my bag. The cause of the bomb sight - a 4th July house party held by Panda and Burt - thanks guys for an epic party.
After getting home and crawling into my bed to attempt recovery stage 1, I realised something. What we call 'a maid' was going to have to clear that mess, made by 50 plus people, up.
This led me to ponder maid culture...
In London, I didn't have a maid and I didn't know anyone with a maid. I had one friend who had a cleaner. But when I moved out here, it became apparent that it was the norm. Everyone has a maid. There is even a 'maid mall' where employers can go to choose their maid...
Why? We all live in small flats and rarely are we at home making a mess deemed worthy of a maid to clear up - I mean, I haven't cooked a meal in weeks but I have a maid that visits weekly.
Yes we are all young professionals, working hard, but when did it become acceptable to spend money on a maid rather than putting it towards saving for a house, or the latest Willow & Huxley dress...when did we become so lazy that we can't do our own washing up or ironing?
What is a maid's life like...
The Live-in
- Maid's are paid an average monthly salary of SGD $380. That's £200
- They live in the 'bomb shelter', a small room with a single bed, bedside table and toilet attached
- Days off are sporadic, although from 1st Jan 2015, the MOM has implemented a weekly rest day for FDW's (Foreign domestic workers) - which is great!
- If something happens to the maid, ie she gets pregnant, the employer is responsible - this goes a long way to explaining how strict employers can be with their maids
The Weekly
- The maid will come once a week to clean the house - this can include anything from washing up, ironing, making meals for the week, cleaning the bathrooms, doing the laundry, ironing and any odd jobs around the house
The weekly maid is easier to understand - it's like having a cleaner...but what I can't stand is the recent media surrounding the topic of live-in maids. There are sites dedicated to people looking for maids which include sections like 'tips on how to train your maid' and 'rules for your maid'...
Some of the rules I've found include:
- Don't give her many days off in case she gets led astray and brings contagious diseases into your home (??? sorry what???)
- Ensure she knows that she is a maid, and not a mistress of the house
- Hide cash and valuable items to avoid temptation
- Don't let them use mobile phones
- Install CCTV cameras in their rooms to ensure they don't misbehave
One article I read recently cited an example of someone blaming maids for the low birth rate in Singapore and claimed that if they had better maids, Singaporean women would be more inclined to have babies. Oh my goodness - come on!!!
It's sad because when a family relocates to Singapore, they'll take to the internet to find out the best 'maid solution' and I guarantee they'll hit a wall of bad horror stories.
And, I'm not sure these social pages are helping - rather they are building stereotypes and driving people to be harsher to their maids, almost encouraging the view that they are disposable objects. What's more, these stories will be forever saved on the ether we call the internet...so the reputation will forever hold.
And, no I don't deny that there are horror stories - of course there are - I've had a few myself - the same as an employer from any walk of life, be it banking, shipping or PR has a horror story about an employee, but I think it's so important to remember that these women have come from a third world country in search of a better life, wanting to work and showing the initiative to do it.
Give them a break!
Rarely do people take to social media to tell the world how their maid helped to potty train their son or cleaned their house after 100 people trashed it and, the more I think about it the more it seems unfair and exploitative and something needs to change.
So, if you're happy with your maid - speak up - tell Singapore about it!
British Living in Singapore
*The author blogs at http://britinsingapore.blogspot.sg