In Singapore, do maids know kids better than their mums do?
Does your domestic worker get a day off?
In the run up to Labour Day on May 1, a short video titled "Maids and Mums" is urging employers to give their helpers a weekly day off. It features mothers and domestic workers talking about the children under their care.
In the video, eght pairs of mothers and maids are asked questions such as "What did your child have for breakfast?" and "Who is his/her best friend?". 74 per cent of the helpers had more accurate answers than the mothers.
The video's stated goal - to show that domestic workers’ absence is not an inconvenience, but an opportunity for parents to bond with their children.
The video is the product of a partnership between Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) and Ogilvy & Mather (O&M).
Quoting figures from the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME), TWC2 notes that around 40 per cent of Singapore’s 222,500 domestic workers do not have a weekly day off, despite a 2013 law that makes it mandatory.
Acknowledging in a statement that it is a "provocative video that will arouse debate". TWC2 stressed that a day off is "a basic right any worker should have, independent of and separate from such a functional motivation of their employers."
It added that family bonding is the responsibility of both parents.
Find out more about the TWC2 campaign at http://igiveadayoff.org.
