Maid says she's 'tired, pressured and sleepless' after her employers shifted into a house double the size, made her pack over 80 boxes and was not even given food
ANTHONY WALLACE (Photo by Anthony WALLACE / AFP)

The feet of former Indonesian domestic helper Erwiana Sulistyaningsih are seen as she speaks to the press in front of the District Court following the sentencing of her former employer Law Wan-tung in Hong Kong on February 27, 2015. Law was jailed for six years on February 27 for beating and starving Sulistyaningsih and keeping her prisoner, as the judge called for action over laws which leave domestic workers exposed to abuse. AFP PHOTO / ANTHONY WALLACE (Photo by Anthony WALLACE / AFP)

Singapore News |
3 m read

Maid says she's 'tired, pressured and sleepless' after her employers shifted into a house double the size, made her pack over 80 boxes and was not even given food

Obbana Rajah
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A foreign domestic worker whose employers decided to shift house thrice over three years said, these processes have been very taxing on her as they have many things for her to pack in each move. In an anonymous post to Facebook page FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), the helper wrote that she had been working for her employers for three years. When she was first hired, the house that they lived in was "not so big", she said. The family was made up of a couple, a child, and a dog. She added that the next house they shifted to was double the size of the first one. In her post, she also wrote that the couple had a new baby as well. The helper said that she did not complain as she was able to manage caring for the family and cleaning the home. "last week before we move to this new house and ive never seen it so far,icomplained because [I] feel very tired, pressured, sleepless, and told them about food matters as [they] didn[']t buy anymore due to moving", the maid wrote. She said that she also asked the family for an increment in her pay as she needed the money to buy vitamins and food. The helper also wrote that she had to pack all of the family's things, which came up to more than 80 boxes, "which is heavy for me.. and during this time..i got alot of bruises and body pain". The maid wrote that the family unnecessarily added pressure on her as well. For example, some of the clothes were stained while packing, she said that this could have been easily rectified but the family complained, leading to her being very stressed out, to the point of her wanting to move out. "what is the best thing to do now as i dontwanna go home yet and im scared that i maybe sent back home?" she asked other netizens.
Here's what they said:
Earlier in the month, another domestic helper set to work on a landed property asked other helpers for advice on what it would be like there. In an anonymous post to Facebook group FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), the helper asked other domestic helpers what it would be like to work for a family that lived in a 2-storey landed property. She added that she would have to work for five adults and one dog. “Is it difficult to work in landed houses?” she asked.
https://theindependent.sg/maid-asks-if-its-difficult-working-in-2-storey-landed-property-with-5-adults-and-1-dog/

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