Maid wants to go to Malaysia on her day off

[Sonar]

But isn't it true that it's illegal to hold the maid's passport? So its not even a question of whether you should or should not - it's against the law.

What happens to employers who are discovered to have confiscated passports?

[ecureilx]

But isn't it true that it's illegal to hold the maid's passport? So its not even a question of whether you should or should not - it's against the law.

What happens to employers who are discovered to have confiscated passports?

sorry for being cruel, but are you an employer of a maid ????

[sundaymorningstaple]

'fraid I've got to agree with Sonar, you are evading the question.

What needs to be done and have the maid voluntarily ask the employer to hold the passport for safekeeping. Otherwise, Sonar is 100% right. Does it matter if he employs a maid or not? The question is only the legality, not what is practiced.

[ecureilx]

'fraid I've got to agree with Sonar, you are evading the question.

What needs to be done and have the maid voluntarily ask the employer to hold the passport for safekeeping. Otherwise, Sonar is 100% right. Does it matter if he employs a maid or not? The question is only the legality, not what is practiced.

I still would like to know Sonar's answer ..

http://www.mom.gov.sg/foreign-manpower/ ... fault.aspx

There is nothing from MOM to say whether the employer can hold the passport or not, and holding the passport is not the same as "CONFISCATING" or "WRONGFUL CONFINEMENT" ... says my 2 cents brain.

And there is a big difference between safekeeping it and confiscating it .. (I know .. I know .. one of my own former maids lost her passport not once, but twice, and each time, the pressure was on me to do the paperwork at the embassy, and a cool 380 $ from my pocket, as, not having done it means I am gonna look at the jail house rock for having a maid without her passport, on top of agency fee to update the MOM etc. etc... so, what should I do ? deduct from her measly pay or Pay and Pay up ??? As a sensible person, with 2 cents moral fiber, I did pay out of my pocket, not once, but twice, till I told her that either I keep it, or she finds another employer ... )

Within Singapore, for a simple question: why does the maid need her passport ? her WP is sufficient for anything and everything

If the maid implicitly says she needs to travel, again, my 2 cents suggestion, as a former employer of maids, the maid should find a job that allows her to travel overseas .. and all.

Or absolve the employer of any legal/medical/compensation, when she want to go overseas ..

Yes, I know .. I have rehashed my past experience in detail, hence my new found interest to know if those who demand rights (not just maids, but for anything) have any personal experience about what they are talking about .. or just like to stir up the pot ..

Like a former boss of mine, who was running a small farm overseas, encountered: he cleared the land, put up a farm, and employed 30 people, and paid them twice as much more than they were getting paid in a nearby sugar mill.. and which all the efficiency drive, he was literally subsidising the farm every month by about 3,000 $ to 5,000 $ simply because he didn't have the heart to shut it down and let the workers go hungry ..

Along came an American NGO, and decided, though there are bigger evils around, my former boss' should be paying twice the salary, and incited the workers to strike .. and strike did they start ... and started spinning stories that the workers were being 'forced' to work and this and that ..

The employer/investor, took one good look around, and then decided that doing good and helping people only brings pain .. and with a calculator, was calculating, that with the current ROI, he will take another 10 years to even see some money, and he never regretted pumping in money, including the times the farm was washed over by storm .. and decided to wind down the place, and closed it.

Well, the NGO has filed cases against the employer, demanding that the farm be started back and more money be sunk etc. etc. etc .. last I checked, other than the said NGO's staff all travelling around in SUVs, the farm workers, who are occupying the defunct farm, hoping that the boss will come back or be forced to pay up (i.e. force to loose money in restarting the farm .. ) and the workers are in a worse state than they were before ..

I know I digress, but, of late, I been having a keen interest to know about the armchair critics ..

No SMS, not you .. but the other preachers

No love lost I hope and pray ..

[sundaymorningstaple]

For the record, I did have a maid. For all of two years when my first child was born (I still worked offshore and was gone for two months a quarter, and my wife was a professional singer and work at night, We had to have one, but as soon as that was sorted, no longer. That was 25 years ago. So I've experience there as well.

Would you allow somebody else to be in charge of your identity? I rather think not. As I said, I'm not on about the practicalities of the matter, but just the legality of "forcibly holding another passport" Not whether MOM allows it or not. They don't. Not legally anyway, that's why you won't find it in print, but as they are maid using locals as well, I'm sure that "verbally" they would suggest it. But not were it could be pointed out in black and white.

[x9200]

I still would like to know Sonar's answer ..

Indirectly: http://imcms2.mediacorp.sg/CMSFileserve ... HNR008.pdf

http://www.mom.gov.sg/foreign-manpower/ ... fault.aspx

This document is like a quintessence reflecting the condition of the average people employing the maids. It is really scary that they had to list out all the offenses and penalties for injuring, mistreating or abusing the maids in all the various ways.

BTW, two points:
1. the law was changed beginning of this year. You are no longer held responsible for a number of things you mentioned earlier including the pregnancy (unless you are the direct "offender" I guess ) This link was given earlier in this thread: http://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/Pages/Pr ... listid=188
2. Even before, you could'ev bough pretty comprehensive insurance that covered also the bond (a pathetic S$340 for 26months). http://www.income.com.sg/insurance/fore ... /index.asp

[ecureilx]

....

SMS: I said "except SMS"

Well, my take on life is, if you haven't been through, and never gonna expose yourself, good or bad, don't wade in ..

x9200: after my first maid put a runner, and from Malaysia, her new found BF flew her back home to get married, I did find out about the insurance to cover the bond ..

The insurance doesn't cover accidental costs, and a lot more ..

My suggestion would be, for the government to enforce strict insurance coverage and reduce the pain on the employer

PS: on another note, before i get branded as a possible maid abuser or anti-maid: one of my colleagues in my previous work place had this habit of staring into his laptop quite often, only later did I find he was constantly monitoring his maid .. using the CCTV at his house ..

All was well, until I asked him if the monitoring covers places outside his house, like when the maid is taking the kid to school, or when the kid is outside .. he was aghast, but I did enjoy the brief misery in his face, before I told him that if he can't trust his maid atleast that much, he should send her packing and live maid-free .. last I heard, he did get his wife to stop working and be a full-time mom ..

[Sonar]

ecureilx, yes, I do have a maid.

[ecureilx]

ecureilx, yes, I do have a maid.

After I took time to read your past postings, I lost my train of thoughts .. Over and out, and am gonna go look for my rabbit hole to dive into ..