maid population in sg

[eatshitndie]

Good question. I know one family who has 4 maids. I know another family that hire a maid, but make her work in their restaurant business. The number of maids therefore do not reflect anything.

you have to start with facts and stats in any analysis. then you proceed from there with exceptions and out of the bell curve anomalies to explain the exceptions. first off, mom listed 206,000 fdw at the end of 2011. she also has 264,000 foreign workers on work permits for construction.

http://www.mom.gov.sg/statistics-publications/others/statistics/Pages/ForeignWorkforceNumbers.aspx

the work permit total is 908,000 which also includes manufacturing, services, process (wtf is this?), and marine.

if the number of maids doesn't mean anything, what number is meaningful? number of households having 1 maid, 2 maids, 3 maids, etc.? and how many pap households vs. oppo households? i like to see the real numbers.

 

[eatshitndie]

as of dec 2011,

number of employment passes: 176,000

number of s passes: 113,000

number of work permits: 908,000

total foreign workforce: 1.2m

 

[slidingbolt]

Singapore should get maids from Australia or Europe.

Now that is funny

 

[Papsmearer]

if the number of maids doesn't mean anything, what number is meaningful? number of households having 1 maid, 2 maids, 3 maids, etc.? and how many pap households vs. oppo households? i like to see the real numbers.

No country uses maid statistics to gauge whether its citizens are "suffering" or not. There are many other statistics that can be used. Cost of living indexes, correlated with the average household income, etc. The empirical evidence so far do not indicate lack of suffering. Really, you have to look at it from the viewpoint of how much a maid costs. In western countries, to hire a maid and work them 80 hours a week, and only 1 day off a month would cost you $10,000 a month (because u would have to pay her OT and assuming she would even want to work those long hours and days).

In SIngapore, the cost of maids is very cheap, at the hours you work, its even cheaper. Assuming you are a typical full time dual income household, and u did not have a maid. You would have to pay money for daycare for your children at an outside service, than you would spend money every month to purchase food from outside to eat at home (due to the fact u have no time to cook and clean up). In addition, you would have to spend hours every week to clean your own place, as well as do your own laundry, wash your own car, etc. These are hours that could be spend at your businesss earning more money for yourself. As well, you would lose any family time you have doing cleaning and chores that a maid would cover.

In the end if you add up the opportunity cost of lost income, lost time with family, as well as actual real hard costs of increase food bill, daycare bill, etc. you will see that paying $350 for a maid can save you $3500 in the above cost. Therefore, the hiring of a maid is not a luxury item as you think, but is a cost effective way to manage your household. Of course, if tomorrow MOM says all maid must now be paid $2000 a month (which is beyond the ability of most sinkies to pay), than perhaps you can make the case that people who hire them are not 'suffering'.

 

[king_of_abalone]

Singapore should get maids from Australia or Europe.

China, Japan, Korea too

 

[zhihau]

why don't we start with you first? how many maids does your household employ?

no maid employed previously in my household during my growing years up to this point in time

my folks taught their children to do ALL household chores, how about your household, Sir?

 

[eatshitndie]

no maid employed previously in my household during my growing years up to this point in time

my folks taught their children to do ALL household chores, how about your household, Sir?

obviously, here in cal i don't have the sinkie unluxury of hiring a full time live in maid, unlike a mrs. whitman who was brought to task by a ms. gloria allred for hiring an illegal mexican woman as full time live in maid and shortchanging her.

not many of us are like the former governator and the recent governor wannabe who couldn't get elected. we do our chores, clean our yard, prune our trees, mow our lawn, wash our cars and trucks, etc. it's healthy, contributes to a good work ethic, therapeutic, and has very little to do with saving or making more money. otherwise we'll be sitting on the couch watching trash tv or surf the web looking for a bargain.

 

[zhihau]

The number of maids therefore do not reflect anything.

heheh... the percentage of maids per household would be more interesting to look at :p:p:p

looking at the electorate in the last GE & PE, assuming most are nucleus families, we could be looking at about a million households, assuming there are singles and there are families with larger groups, they nullify each others' effect on the stats.

then looking at 200K maids, then we have the top 20% of the households having ONE maid each. with friends like yours having four maids, plus a couple of my friends whom employ more than ONE maid in their household, me thought that the figure does correlate to the household income.

there are also folks in the top 20% income bracket whom does their own chores, and there would be folks below that bracket struggling to keep a maid so that both father and mother can work to support the family, especially with the kiddo around. infant care and child care centres charges too expensive, more cost effective to hire a maid.

 

[zhihau]

otherwise we'll be sitting on the couch watching trash tv or surf the web looking for a bargain.

good to note we have things in common

also good to note where you have the luxury of space and better quality of lives, folks in Sinkieland have to work their arses off just to clear those housing debt, fighting for living space, etc.

 

[eatshitndie]

In SIngapore, the cost of maids is very cheap......
In the end if you add up the opportunity cost of lost income, lost time with family, as well as actual real hard costs of increase food bill, daycare bill, etc. you will see that paying $350 for a maid can save you $3500 in the above cost. Therefore, the hiring of a maid is not a luxury item as you think, but is a cost effective way to manage your household. Of course, if tomorrow MOM says all maid must now be paid $2000 a month (which is beyond the ability of most sinkies to pay), than perhaps you can make the case that people who hire them are not 'suffering'.

all good points, and there are also cultural and lifestyle differences between sg and the other 1st world countries. for example, sinkies look at every cost and benefit angle while californians prefer to do their own chores for habitual, work ethic, self fulfilment and therapeutic reasons. many bay area households can easily afford a live in maid by going to the underground market and paying cash. many wealthy politicians and entrepreuners do that. the ongoing rate is usd1000 per month in the current busted economy. for kids, it's either a live in nanny or au pair. with cash payments to avoid labor laws, minimum wage and taxes, it's about usd1200 per month, slightly more than maids. but the employer will still need to cook, clean the yard and wash cars, or hire someone else to do yard chores or cook meals. but the vast majority (over 95% of households) don't have maids or even maid services on a bi-weekly basis. we find it stupid that healthy, body enhancing, mind calming chores are given to strangers from a less privileged land to enjoy.

i'm very sure that for sinkies, the opportunity cost is extremely small. sinkies are not truly "busy" making money. every moment they get, the men either go out for oggling or cheonging and the women latch on their tv dramas from south korea. meanwhile, the maid is toiling away doing everything from mopping to cooking to feeding the kids to washing the car. uniquely sg.

 

[eatshitndie]

good to note we have things in common

also good to note where you have the luxury of space and better quality of lives, folks in Sinkieland have to work their arses off just to clear those housing debt, fighting for living space, etc.

we have debt too, and contrary to perception in sg, we work our arses off too. otherwise, how are you gonna enjoy your flawless ipad, iphone, ipod, google maps, search, microsoft, android and hemarrhoid, and the many apps that run over the 3 os invented here? :p

and we have about 45% of our income going into federal, fica, state, city, sales, social security, medicare, and other taxes.

 

[eatshitndie]

there are also folks in the top 20% income bracket whom does their own chores, and there would be folks below that bracket struggling to keep a maid so that both father and mother can work to support the family, especially with the kiddo around. infant care and child care centres charges too expensive, more cost effective to hire a maid.

one of many solutions for sg will have to involve bridging the divide between young nucleas family raising one or two kids and grannies who are available to help in infant and child care. this is becoming a u.s. phenomenon as both parents have to work to survive in today's economy. child care is too troublesome and expensive (driving to and fro, restrictive and inconvenient locations, abuse, early cut off pickup times, etc.) and who is best to take up the slack while both parents are working? grannies. they live longer, are healthier and if tokenly and reasonably compensated by parents, they will work as grandchildren care providers happily. it's becoming normal in my neighborhood among nucleas family for grannies to live in with them.

why are parents and grannies in sg so at odds with one another that even the subject of child care is taboo among family members?

 

[zhihau]

we have debt too, and contrary to perception in sg, we work our arses off too. otherwise, how are you gonna enjoy your flawless ipad, iphone, ipod, google maps, search, microsoft, android and hemarrhoid, and the many apps that run over the 3 os invented here? :p

good to note we've got more things in common now :p:p:p

also good to note me saved a good 3 years previously just to get an iMac after boss kept telling us "Get a Mac, you wouldn't look back". my phones stay with me until it's totally dead, only having my first iPhone, a 3GS, for a couple of years now. no iPods, iPads to play with.

then another interesting point you brought up, creativity is almost dead in Sinkieland.

 

[zhihau]

why are parents and grannies in sg so at odds with one another that even the subject of child care is taboo among family members?

a mountain can't have two tigers... ala a kitchen can't hold two master chefs...

 

[eatshitndie]

a mountain can't have two tigers... ala a kitchen can't hold two master chefs...

so in sg, it's an ego issue? so much so that a cheap 3rd party needs to be hired from a poor village a few thousand miles away to toil for everyone, and everyone can bark egoistic and sadistic orders to the poor maid, including kids? unbelievable.

 

[zhihau]

so in sg, it's an ego issue? so much so that a cheap 3rd party needs to be hired from a poor village a few thousand miles away to toil for everyone, and everyone can bark egoistic and sadistic orders to the poor maid, including kids? unbelievable.

no lah, every one holds the great old man in high regards and emulating to working till 88 years old and beyond. folks these days where got time to cook at home? so many people eat out these days.

the notion of 一山不能藏二虎 would probably apply to my household, when my old woman cooks, me can't be around, when me cook, she can't be around. what to do? kitchen too small lah!

 

[halsey02]

as of dec 2011,

number of employment passes: 176,000

number of s passes: 113,000

number of work permits: 908,000

total foreign workforce: 1.2m

Say at $250 per worker that will be $300,000,000 a month $3,600,000,000 a year, no wonder the chairs they sit on cost more than $500. No wonder, we are told to 'embrace', 'welcome' 'intergrate' with the FT's. We have to love them, they are M.O.M. "money trees" better than the man made, garden of 'eden' at the bay.

SINgapore workers...no value..who cares!

 

[Papsmearer]

all good points, and there are also cultural and lifestyle differences between sg and the other 1st world countries. for example, sinkies look at every cost and benefit angle while californians prefer to do their own chores for habitual, work ethic, self fulfilment and therapeutic reasons. many bay area households can easily afford a live in maid by going to the underground market and paying cash. many wealthy politicians and entrepreuners do that. the ongoing rate is usd1000 per month in the current busted economy. for kids, it's either a live in nanny or au pair. with cash payments to avoid labor laws, minimum wage and taxes, it's about usd1200 per month, slightly more than maids. but the employer will still need to cook, clean the yard and wash cars, or hire someone else to do yard chores or cook meals. but the vast majority (over 95% of households) don't have maids or even maid services on a bi-weekly basis. we find it stupid that healthy, body enhancing, mind calming chores are given to strangers from a less privileged land to enjoy.

i'm very sure that for sinkies, the opportunity cost is extremely small. sinkies are not truly "busy" making money. every moment they get, the men either go out for oggling or cheonging and the women latch on their tv dramas from south korea. meanwhile, the maid is toiling away doing everything from mopping to cooking to feeding the kids to washing the car. uniquely sg.

AS I have mentioned, the costs of maids here is so low and the labour hours they work is so high that just hiring a maid for your household is no indication of whether u are suffering or not. If tomorrow, lets say a miracle happened and your governor passed a law saying californians were allowed to hire maids for the equivalent of SGD$350 and work them 80 hours a week with no OT, u will see many californians start to hire maids, even lower income households. But this is no reflection on whether the state is doing well or whether californians are doing well in general, because we all know there are many bankruptcies, foreclosures, and downgrades there.

 

[eatshitndie]

AS I have mentioned, the costs of maids here is so low......equivalent of SGD$350 and work them 80 hours a week with no OT...

it can't be sgd350 per month as the monthly levy alone starts from sgd240.

 

[king_of_abalone]

Sinkies suffering? From an outsider's preception....

frequently see Lambos, Maseratis, Ducatis. Harleys on the roads. Expensive restaurants fully occupied at lunch/dinners (on weekdays too!). Holiday packages - got to book months in advance!!!! Kids all have their own smart phones. Even loitering street bums don designer Addidas and Nikes!!! Sinkies are not suffering, they're living it up!

Cheers!

How you know the lambo and Maserati are driven by sinkie? How you know the expensive restaurants patronized by sinkies? Sinkies got sign on their forehead saying "kick me I am sinkie?"