A campaign for domestic helpers’ rights, by maids

SINGAPORE — She came to Singapore from Myanmar in March last year, hoping to earn a living as a domestic helper. Instead, she was tasked to help out at her then employer’s business, making up to 80kg of sausage patties a day, in addition to her household chores. All for a meagre S$500 a month that was often not paid on time.

Sue (not her real name), 41, said she did as she was told because her ex-employer had promised her additional remuneration, but nothing came of it.

Finally, she mustered up the courage to file a complaint at the Ministry of Manpower in April and it was only then that she realised she had been illegally deployed. Her experience, along with those of other maids she encountered, led her to join the efforts to create a new campaign aimed at changing perceptions and raising awareness of the plight of maids here.

The campaign was conceived by researchers at the National University of Singapore’s Centre for Culture-Centred Approach to Research and Evaluation (CARE), but Sue, together with 27 women who have been mistreated by their employers, were responsible for shaping its direction and execution.

Launched on Oct 21, Respect our Rights comprises a series of documentaries and multimedia advertisements.

Said Professor Mohan Dutta, director of CARE: “By inverting the communication structure and giving the disenfranchised a voice in shaping the campaign, we were able to get to the core of these problems and also give them a voice in shaping solutions.”

Speaking to TODAY, Sue recalled how she was made to live with her ex-employer’s business partner, who hurled verbal insults at her. “He told me, ‘You are very stupid. You never eat pork, that’s why you don’t have the brain.’ He threatened me, said he (used to) work with the police. I was sad, and very angry. I wanted to go home.”

After she filed her report, she was housed at a shelter at the Humanitarian Organization for Migrant Economics (HOME) for three months while investigations took place. There, she met other women who suffered far worse. “Some of the girls (were) physically abused; one was made to eat her own vomit. Many were also confined, they don’t get their off-days,” she said.

Now employed in the healthcare industry, Sue’s experience galvanised her to take part in the campaign. “Our ex-employers did not treat us like human, so we want this campaign to be about respecting each other. Employers and workers must respect each other. We want others to see domestic work as professional work too,” she said.

Over five months, the board met thrice each week to brainstorm for the campaign. After deciding on its objectives, they discussed which stories to document and the channels through which to share them.

Apart from Sue’s story, others shared various experiences of being physically abused, underpaid, harassed and put under constant surveillance. One common issue highlighted in the documentaries is the long waiting period for investigations to conclude. Sue said some have to wait up to two years and cannot find work to support themselves during this time. “They feel trapped. Many fall into depression,” she added.

The CARE researchers, who have conducted more than 48 interviews with foreign domestic workers over the past two years, observed a lack of support for foreign domestic workers during this interim period.

“More should be done to provide medical care, employment and legal aid, and these should not fall on the shoulders of non-governmental organisations,” said the researchers, who have published their findings in a white paper.

While the campaign is targeted primarily at employers and authorities, Sue also hopes to reach out to fellow domestic workers through social media and mobile ads. “I want to share our stories to foreign domestic workers, because I want to (be an) alarm for (those who are abused). They must know where to find help,” she said.

Find out more about the campaign and the White Paper at http://www.respectfdwrights.com/.