'Modern-day slavery': Woman's 'rules and regulations' list for maid leaves netizens fuming

One woman, who decided to share on social media a long list of regulations for her maid to abide by, probably didn't expect the brickbats that ensued.  

In an Instagram video shared by Sgfollowsall on Thursday (May 26), the employer, who was off camera, claimed that it took her 45 minutes to write a 12-pointer "rules and regulations" on a white board.

Describing how "they can be amended anytime", the woman wrote, among other things that she should not to open their doors to strangers and to always keep the house clean, all pretty reasonable requests.

But netizens took offence at the other regulations that she drew up, including how the maid is only allowed to use her phone at night for an hour "when the kids are asleep". 

The woman also wrote that her maid should sleep by 10pm latest, wake up by 7am and only be at areas where there are CCTV cameras when the family is not at home unless the maid is bathing or doing housework.

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Besides including daily a "to-do" list, the woman also cheekily suggested if she can ask her maid to make "cold calls" during her free time. It is unclear what she meant by cold calls here. 

In the comments, netizens were outraged by the woman's treatment towards her maid.

"To my knowledge a helper is also human like us, not robot," a netizen said. 

Responding to an opinion piece in the Straits Times on March 30, 2017, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said in a statement on its website that it is "quite clear" what a maid can or cannot do.

Foreign domestic workers (FDW) are only allowed to perform household and domestic duties, the ministry reiterated.

"However, it is impractical to detail every task as these vary with households," MOM said, adding that a "fruitful employment relationship" depends on give-and-take between employers and their FDW.

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chingshijie@asiaone.com