Forum: Maids' wages and benefits have improved

I refer to the article "Can home cleaning scheme replace live-in maids?" (Aug 29).

The writer made references to the disparity in wages and benefits received by Household Services Scheme cleaners and those received by live-in maids. She also said that the monthly salary of a live-in maid was about $450 to $650.

I have been maid-hunting intensively since early last year. I have not come across any maid paid less than $500.

There are some in the $500 to $550 range, but only because they are just about to finish their two-year contracts (meaning this was their starting pay nearly two years ago).

The majority are asking for between $750 and $900, with four days off every month.

Those who have been in Singapore for less than two years are asking for $750 because the current demand for transfer maids far outstrips the supply.

Those in Singapore for four years or more are asking for between $900 and $1,000. One of those I interviewed said she is already drawing $1,200 a month now.

Essentially, it appears that many maids are making use of the current Covid-19 situation to change employers and ask for a higher salary.

For anyone who has not been actively looking to hire a maid, the salaries that I listed may seem exaggerated, but this is the going rate that I have seen.

Although I am prepared to pay the salaries asked for during the interviews, it is always a challenge securing a hire because there is always another household that is offering an easier job for the same salary.

The article also mentions the possibility of poorer living conditions in a maid's employer's house as opposed to the accommodation that household cleaners get as they can arrange their own accommodation. This is also not necessarily true.

Many employers now offer maids their own bedrooms and toilets.

Many of the maids I interviewed also asked for their own rooms and were not prepared to share a room with another helper. Some also did not want to share a room with the elderly person they are looking after.

As maids get free food and lodging (as well as medical and dental treatment), if they do not spend a single cent of what they earn, the lowest-paid helpers can save about $500 a month, while the more highly paid ones can save about $900 a month.

Do not get me wrong. I am not against better benefits or greater protection for migrant workers.

I am merely saying that we can always choose to make comparisons either upstream or downstream. But let's be fair and objective.

Leslie Chia

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