Endless Toil

I chatted with a lady from China who is working at a food stall near my home. I found out that she worked twelve hours daily with a monthly pay of $1000. She worked from 4am to 4pm with one rest day in every two weeks. She must be dead tired. It must be tough for her, knowing the cost of living here. And if she needs to pay rental for accommodation, it will take away quite a big chunk of her salary.

In my London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) public speaking exam last October, one of my speeches is on how our children can learn from our live in maids. As one in seven households here employ a live in maid. One key area of my speech is to bring home the point that all forms of hard work carry dignity. In some case, many of these maids are professionals and highly trained skilled workers in their own right. But they have humbled themselves to work here as maids, due to unfortunate circumstances in their home country.

One day, I saw a lady speaking condescendingly to her maid in front of her young daughter in public. If this persists, the child will never learn to respect her maid.

I have also observed that some maids from Indonesia are so young. They look as young as 13 or 14 years of age. Some struggle with home sicknesses as they try their level best to adjust to a new living and working environment. I feel that they should be in school. Even if the family cannot afford to give them a decent education, it would still be safer for them to be living with their families. They may still make a living or find some simple forms of work back home. I hope that employment agencies will pay special attention to ensure that they do not bring in young girls to toil endlessly in the homes here.