Breaking the Silence with Thanksgivings

It was the arrival of an undesirable biennial event which brought forth much uncertainty and despair.


It's time to change maids and what happened 2 years ago brought forth additional burdens and anxiety as my mom goes through the tedious process of looking for a new/replacement maid. From the salary costs, to day-offs, to the physique of the maid, finally some choices had been made. While we had stated our requirements clearly, we know we can never really trust that the maid to come with a willing heart to serve. For some history, you might like to turn to the following links
http://princesspetrine.blogspot.com/2007/09/following-law.html
http://princesspetrine.blogspot.com/2007/09/when-things-go-wrong.html


In summary, because the new maid ran away in a day the last time, we couldn't take the chances of going through a replacement maid anymore. Since the law states that the old maid must return within 14 days, once the new maid arrives, we can't take the chances of going through the ordeal again. There will not be enough time to train the new maid.. worse still if the new maid rejects the new working condition.. So we thought the best way is to try applying for a 2nd maid, at least for a short overlap of 2-4 weeks. Once the new maid is trained and willing to stay, we can send the old maid back..


Qn: What are the requirements to employ a 2nd Foreign Domestic Worker?
The general requirements are:
1) the combined income per annum of the employers should be at least S$30,000
2) the employer should have one of the following living in the same address:
a. 2 children below the age of 12
b. 2 elderly above the age of 60
c. 1 child below the age of 12 and 1 elderly above the age of 60

We have no young children at home, and only my dad is above age 60. So we supposedly don't meet the requirement.


Late June, Agency says "Let's appeal since we have a worthy cause. Let's just go ahead and apply using my dad as the employer."
1 week later, Authority rejects with the reply that "the employer has no income. He needs a sponsor."


Agency says "Let the daughter be the sponsor." I filled in the necessary documents
"To apply for a foreign domestic worker’s Work Permit under the Sponsorship scheme, the employer must be 60 years old and above with no income and no working adults staying with him/her. The employer must be using the income of his/her children or children’s spouse to apply for the foreign domestic worker. "
1 week later, Authority rejects saying, the sponsor cannot be staying with the employer. Authority suggest that the sponsor apply for the maid.


Agency puts in the application for me to get a maid
1 day later, the Authority rejects it. Why? Cos I'm staying with my dad the employer. Sponsor and employer cannot be staying in the same residential address.


Then we thought of my cousin to be the sponsor for my mom.
Checked with agency, "Cannot" because the sponsor has to be next of kin.

Then we thought of my mom's siblings to be the sponsor for my mom.
Checked with agency, "Cannot" because the sponsor has to be next of kin aka children only.


Let's revisit the case. Can I get a replacement maid? Yes, but within 14 days old maid must return. If new maid cannot or is unwilling to do the work, the new maid must be sent back to her country, incurring about $2500 and the old maid must also return since her work permit has been cancelled.


Can I get someone else to employ the new maid, try her out for 2-4 weeks. If she is able to and is willing to do the work, can we transfer her to be our maid? Yes, the transfer fee will be about $300, BUT note, it is against the law for the maid to work in a residence apart from where the employer stays. So it is actually illegal for the maid employed by another to work in my place for the initial 2-4 weeks.


So my cousin can't be the employer. But neither can he be the sponsor because he is not the next of kin. I can't be the sponsor because I stay with my parents. I can't be the employer because I there's already another maid in the same residence. My dad can't be the employer because he has no income. And I'm stuck in a vicious cycle.



And time was running short.. with the existing maid's work permit expiring in end Aug, I just needed to settle all these things as soon as possible. At least before I leave for my business conference end of July. In my desperation, a close friend who offered to help gave a call to the Authority and was told that I could/should call personally to make an appointment with an officer. That was last Friday.


So on Monday morning, gathering all that I have, including a 3rd painstakingly crafted appeal letter, I went straight to the Authority. There was no buttons to press for a queue number for my case.

I had to go to the reception to check whether I could see an officer for my case. And the queue was really long. So while waiting, I called the hotline ..I thought perhaps if I could get someone on the line and arrange the meeting, I might be able to reach an officer faster. And after about 20mins on the phone (and still in the physical queue), I was told over the phone that there's no point for me to go down. All I needed to do was to follow the instructions on the rejection letter. But what if I were to be rejected again?

After 55 mins of waiting in the queue, I finally reached the reception counter and once again had to retell my story. They made a few phone calls and gave me the same answer "For your case, you don't need to see the officer, you just need to follow the rejection letter's instruction and apply to be the employer and they will approve it." I was adamant in seeing an officer. When one is in desperation, one will have the courage to do anything. I stood there, unwilling to move on. I stood there, not caring if there is a long line of people behind me. I stood there, knowing that I had waiting 55 mins in line and I wanted to see someone who would give me clear instructions of what to do so that I will be successful in my appeal.

I probably hanged around for a good 20 mins before I got to see an officer. He was impressed by the documents that I had prepared, and at first, he said the same thing "You just have to follow instructions and apply to be the employer." Then after a few more clarifications, he said "And because you are a new employer, you'll need to go and take the FDW Employer Test." The application will require me to submit the certification for the FDW Employer too. And to take that online test, I needed to remember my Singpass.. I forgot, so I had to go to the nearest CC to get my new password.

And so Monday night was spent getting the new Singpass, applying for the test. The registration process required one day. Tuesday was spent hours taking the course online and passing it.. and then Wednesday morning I went to submit the appeal..

Thank God for His Faithfulness and Providence! After my meeting on this morning, I received a call from the Authority informing me that the appeal has been successful and that the Agency may now proceed to bring the new maid in.

An Ordeal of Rejection spanning 2 months.. a whole process beginning from February finally came to an end.

May the Lord continue to shine upon us as we pray for a willing and teachable new maid at home.