Debated in Parliament on 14 Apr 2014.
The following question stood in the name of Ms Mary Liew –
To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower since the introduction of the compulsory weekly rest day for foreign domestic workers (FDWs) (a) how many FDWs have chosen to take the weekly rest day; (b) how many have chosen to
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forgo their rest day in lieu of additional payment; and (c) how many complaints has the Ministry received about employers not granting rest days.
Question No 32, Madam.
Madam, MOM has been monitoring the implementation of the weekly rest day requirement since it took effect for foreign domestic workers (FDWs) with Work Permits issued or renewed on or after 1 January 2013.
Specifically, MOM interviewed more than 2,000 FDWs who arrived to work in Singapore for the first time in 2013. It is encouraging to see that 37% of the FDWs interviewed received a weekly rest day. In comparison, a 2010 survey of more than 900 foreign domestic workers showed that only 13% of FDWs received a weekly rest day. We also found that about 61% of those interviewed received at least a monthly rest day, compared to 53% in the 2010 survey. FDWs who forgo their weekly rest days have to be compensated with additional payment, as required under the law.
In the lead up to implementation on 1 January 2013, MOM carried out extensive public education campaigns for existing employers and FDWs and employment agencies. This included an information kit and rest day implementation guide, mailed to all FDW employer households. Employment agencies were briefed and given a recommended template for facilitating the written rest day agreement between FDWs and employers before commencement of employment, to allow expectations to be clearly communicated upfront. All first-time employers and FDWs were informed of the weekly rest day provision through the mandatory Employer Orientation Programme and the FDW Settling-In Programme.
We understand that FDWs and employers usually attempt to resolve any disputes and secure mutual agreement on the rest day arrangement between themselves, or through their employment agencies. Parties should openly discuss their concerns. Nonetheless, FDWs who do not receive rest days in accordance with the written agreement with their employers, or compensation in-lieu for working on a rest day, can seek assistance from MOM.
By 1 January 2015, the rest day requirement would have been in place for two years. This means that all FDWs will be on new employment contracts that
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will have to abide by the requirement. MOM hopes to see the rest day arrangement work well for employers, their families and the FDWs. A rest day provides FDWs a reprieve from their duties, much like how all of us Singaporeans need a break from our work. Ultimately, this will contribute to more well-adjusted FDWs who can better perform their jobs, benefiting our Singaporean families.
The Ministry will continue our efforts to educate and help stakeholders manage the rest day requirement, as well as work with partners to provide avenues for FDWs to spend their rest days productively.
I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the answer. In relation to the replacement contracts, the start-up kit and the settling-in programme, does MOM understand that in some situations, the maids are in unequal bargaining positions and whether these programmes and start-up kits or literature create a buffer needed to put the maids perhaps on a more equal footing in terms of rest days? But I am certainly encouraged by the statistics shared in terms of percentages.
I would say that there are two buffers. One is the employment agency. The employment agency would be actively involved in the agreement between the two parties, the employer as well as the FDW, on which day the FDW will get the weekly rest. If there is a dispute, the employer and/or the FDW can seek assistance from the employment agency that had overseen the written agreement between the two parties. If there is still a dispute, either party or both can seek assistance from MOM.
If there is a change in the agreement on the weekly rest day, the employer as well as the domestic worker are advised to write it down. So, I would say there are two buffers for both employers as well as the domestic workers, the employment agency can help them, and, finally, of course, the MOM.
Mdm Speaker, I would like to ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary whether an employment agency can be a neutral party, given the fact that the FDW's employer is probably a client of the employment agency. In this regard, I would like to ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary whether it is possible for the Ministry to be the so-called adjudicator. I agree with Mr de Souza that between the FDWs and their employers, there is an unequal, asymmetric power relationship there.
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While I am encouraged by the improvement in the figures, would the Senior Parliamentary Secretary agree that at 37% for what is supposed to be a mandatory rest day, that the figure is actually quite low? Are there plans to make the compulsory rest day to be truly a compulsory rest day?
Madam, let me take the second question first – whether MOM can make the compulsory rest day truly compulsory. It is actually compulsory. Employers are supposed to provide one rest day a week to their domestic worker, if the Work Permit was issued on or after the 1 January 2013. Those who were under the old agreement can continue with whatever arrangement they had agreed to before but come 1 January 2015, all maids will come under the new agreement that will require employers to provide one day off a week. So, it is compulsory.
If for some reason, the employer needs the maid to work on her rest day, or the maid says that she wants to work on her rest day, they will have to come to an agreement on how that will work out.
So, is there truly an imbalanced relationship between the two? Maybe. But then, there are avenues for them to resolve their differences. The employment agency, because they are a party or the facilitator to the mutual agreement, can continue to be the facilitator. MOM cannot be there all the time in every household we have about 210,000 maids. We would have to work with the agencies to facilitate whatever differences that may happen or may arise between the two parties, but we will still be there if the maid comes to MOM for assistance.
I would like to assure the Member that a compulsory rest day is truly compulsory. If for some reason the employer needs the maid to work on the agreed rest day, then they must work out an agreement and the maid must receive either compensation payment or an alternative rest day.
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