Thought-provoking video shows domestic workers in S'pore know more about children they care for than the parents

Domestic workers 1 Parents 0.

Belmont Lay| April 23, 07:28 PM

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Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) and Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) have come up with an illuminating and thought-provoking video lobbying for a day off for domestic workers.

The short video titled "Maids and Mums" features mothers and domestic workers talking about the children under their care.

A total of eight pairs of mothers and maids are asked questions such as "What did your child have for breakfast?" and "Who is his/her best friend?".

Final score: 74 percent of the helpers had more accurate answers than the mothers.

The video's goal is to show that there is an opportunity for parents to bond with their children in the absence of domestic workers who deserve a day off.

Quoting figures from the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME), TWC2 notes that around 40 percent of Singapore’s 222,500 domestic workers do not have a weekly day off, despite a 2013 law that makes it mandatory.

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."

More about the TWC2 campaign at http://igiveadayoff.org.

 

Update April 23, 2015, 8pm:

It appears the video on YouTube has drawn some flak for "mom-shaming".

Commenters are saying it is not right to put down mothers in order to lobby for workers' rights.

Here are some of the comments:

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