S'pore domestic helpers explain why they picnic outdoors rather than rest at home on off-days

Days off from work are meant to be enjoyed.

Jane Zhang | November 26, 2019, 08:39 PM

For most people, Sundays are for kicking back and relaxing before starting yet another long week of work, and the same is definitely true for women working as domestic helpers in Singapore.

Why, then, do many of them appear to prefer to spend their one off-day a week in public places and outdoors rather than at home?

Questioned by taxi auntie

One foreign domestic helper, Eliz Morante Dominggo Llanillo, took to Facebook to share a conversation she had with a taxi driver.

The taxi driver was apparently curious about why many of them choose to sit out in public under the hot sun rather than stay home to rest.

The post was shared in the public Facebook group FDW in Singapore (working conditions forum), a group meant to "discuss employment conditions, share information, exchange opinions and improve awareness".

Here is the post:

screenshot of Facebook post Image from Facebook via Eliz Morante Dominggo Llanillo

Llanillo wrote that she had been in a taxi home from Orchard when the taxi driver began chatting with her.

The taxi driver was surprised to find out that Llanillo was a domestic helper, and subsequently asked her why helpers like to sit on the sidewalks to talk, or sleep on the grass under the hot sun, rather than stay at home to rest.

According to Llanillo's post, she replied as follows:

"Auntie I can only answer you for my self, coz I also, likes to do picnics sometimes, My reason, is I don't really go to the malls, go here n there sometimes, for less expenses, Going here and there, very costly, so for my part, I rather stay in a place where I can talk to friends, without spending much."

She then asked others in the group to share in the comments how they would have responded to the question.

Others chimed in with their thoughts

In the comments section, some helpers shared that they enjoy spending their off-days out in public because they get to spend time with friends, get out of the houses that they spend the rest of the week working in, and experience different surroundings:

screenshot of FB comment Image via Facebook

screenshot of FB comment Image via Facebook

screenshot of FB comment Image via Facebook

screenshot of FB comment Image via Facebook

Others pointed out that spending their off-day at home can sometimes lead to their employers asking them to do work, even though it is technically their day off.

screenshot of FB comment Image via Facebook

screenshot of FB comment Image via Facebook

screenshot of FB comment Image via Facebook

Employers are required to give domestic workers one rest day per week with the option to provide appropriate compensation if the helper agrees to work on her rest day.

Even for those who are not asked to do work on their day off, being at home offers many helpers little to no privacy, because they live in their employers homes or because some do not have their own rooms:

screenshot of FB comment Image via Facebook

screenshot of FB comment Image via Facebook

According to the Ministry of Manpower website, employers are encouraged to provide their helpers with their own room. If they are not able to do so, they must still provide "adequate space and privacy."

For many domestic helpers in Singapore, the public sphere is ironically the only place where they can have any semblance of "privacy" to spend their time as they wish, such as relaxing, catching up with friends, or calling home.

Tired of explaining themselves

Some in the comments section responded to the taxi driver's question by pointing out that helpers are often asked to explain themselves and are placed under additional moral scrutiny for the decisions that they make:

screenshot of FB comment Image via Facebook

screenshot of FB comment Image via Facebook

Others expressed that they feel that Singaporeans will not understand their situations even if they tried to explain:

screenshot of FB comment Image via Facebook

Some others, however, said that they enjoyed spending their Sundays at home, and did not appear to have the same issues that some others had highlighted:

screenshot of FB comment Image via Facebook

screenshot of FB comment Image via Facebook

But one comment summed up the discussion perfectly, saying that how people choose to spend their off-days should be, of course, up to them.

screenshot of FB comment Image via Facebook

Learn more about how domestic helpers spend their off-days in this photo essay:

Top image via Rachel Ng