Guarantee weekly days off for domestic workers

21 February 2020

In reply to a question asked by Nominated Member of Parliament, Anthea Ong, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) revealed that about 20% of employers in Singapore who applied for a work permit for their migrant domestic workers (MDWs) declared to MOM that they would not give them any days off. Even though a weekly day off was legislated in 2012, a significant number of MDWs who approach HOME for assistance still do not have rest days. This is because the law allows an employer to pay the worker in lieu of the day off, and this usually amounts to approximately $20 per rest day, an amount which is affordable for most employers. 

In a study which HOME published in 2015, “Home sweet home? Work, life and well-being of foreign domestic workers”, we found that out of almost 800 MDWs surveyed, only slightly more than half had a weekly day off. This does not take into consideration the fact that a full, 24-hour day off is not guaranteed in law.  

Even today, from our case work experience, it is a common complaint that employers ask MDWs to perform chores before and after they return home. Some may only have a few hours off on their rest day with just enough time to run personal errands. Denying rest days may also lead to, or be symptomatic of situations of forced labour, i.e. MDWs who may be working long hours, experiencing abuse, having restricted means of communication and are not allowed to leave the house. Ensuring a weekly day off has to be part of our efforts to combat trafficking in persons and forced labour.

In their concluding recommendations when Singapore was reviewed on the situation of women’s rights in the country, the United Nations CEDAW committee urged the government to guarantee regular days of rest to domestic workers by including them in our Employment Act. We recommend that the government takes measures to ensure adequate rest days to MDWs in Singapore.