Singapore Law should make it mandatory for all maids to have a day off every Sunday (20 Aug 09)

- human rights
- take time off from work
- socialize
- work-life balance

Setting: President of TWC2 (Transient Workers Count Too) speaking at a Community Event on a Sunday

A very good morning to all. On this beautiful Sunday morning, we enjoy the warm sun together with our loved ones here, nibbling on the healthy breakfast spread as we catch up with our neighbours and simply relax on a day off from work. Imagine a scenario where your boss calls you from the office and asks that you work the whole of Sunday, up till 8pm in the night. How would you feel? This is what some domestic workers in our country go through. They arrive from a faraway country, with the only hope of earning enough to support their loved ones back at home. In this foreign land all alone, all the more they feel homesick. Yet many employers fail to see things from their perspective and continue to have this warped thinking that they are here to slog, all day, 7 days, without rest.

.....


Maids are just like one of us. We need to take time off from work in order to look after our well being, to recharge ourselves. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Imagine ourselves working 18 hour days for 7 days a week for 52 weeks a year. Goodness! We would probably collapse in exhaustion midway through the year.

Maids are just like one of us. We need to find time to socialize, be it with our friends or family. To catch up with one another, to maintain close ties with one another, to share with one another about what we are going through.

......

When you go back home today, find time to sit down with your family and discuss ways in which you can make life better for your domestic worker. It could be something as simple as letting her take breaks in between the chores everyday, or to bring her out when there are family outings to the beach. Whatever that comes to mind, try it. Think about how she would feel as a person when she starts to have these tiny yet humane privileges. With such warmth, anyone would improve in their productivity at work. With such joy, anyone would feel included as part of the family. With such understanding, anyone would pass each day feeling happy about what they are doing. With such balance, any one of us would feel peace when we go to work each day, knowing there is someone we trust at home managing the household on our behalf.