Term 3 Week 1 (Blogging Assignment)

Veteran labour leader Halimah Yacob recently called for the legislation of weekly days off for maids working in Singapore. This has sparked off an intense debate amongst Singaporeans. In your opinion, should the giving of weekly days off be legislated in Singapore?

Post your 300 word response on your blog.

It is mandatory for all employees to be given at least a day off in a week by law. However, maids have never been included until recently, when veteran labour leader Halimah Yacob recently called for the legislation of weekly days off for maids working in Singapore. Maids, also known as domestic helpers, are employed by locals to provide assistance in the households. Maids come from countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia and Myanmar. Indonesian maids usually work 7days a week and do not request for off-days, while some Filipino and Myanmar maids insist on only working under an employer who grants off-days.

In my opinion, I think that it should not be made legislatory for maids to have weekly off-days.
Firstly, I do not think that all maids would want off-days. For example, those from Indonesia usually would want to earn more money, and thus would prefer to work 24/7 to maximise their salary. Some maids are self-conscious, and are afraid that they might go astray or spend all their savings if they were given this freedom. They also want to be constantly working, so that they would not find working every day hard.

Secondly, I also do not think that all employers would want to give their maids off-days. This is especially so after the rising number of crime cases involving maids. In an interview on television, a middle-aged housewife said in Mandarin, “They are already as out of control as it is now. If we were to give them off-days, would it not get worse?” It is presumable then, that some families are not willing to employ maids who request for off-days.

Lastly, I think that we should maintain the current model and introduce a gradual change. There should be a choice of having off-days for maids as they are the ones who are debated about in this matter. If the maid insists on having off-days, the employer can always look for another maid to employ. The maid in question does not have to fret as they would surely be a number of employers who believe in giving her off-days. In such a huge labour market, I am sure that there would be enough employees for employers and vice-versa.