Maids - give them their fair due
Sometimes they are called servants. Maids are those that help around in the house, sweeping, cooking, washing and ironing cloths amongst other such chores. What do I mean when i say “fair due”:
a) respect
b) remuneration
c) quantum of work
Points “b” and “c” are easily understood. What about point “a”? basically, treat them as you would treat a human and not as how you would treat a slave. Yes, some people do treat their helper as slaves. For example, some people do not even bother to learn their helpers name and call them by various other names.
Maids play a very important role (those employed abroad send home foreign exchange) in Sri Lanka. It may go un-noticd and even un-appreciated: they save loads of time for me. Yes, i belong to that spoilt class that do not wash my cloths, make my bed, cook my food etc because we have a maid who does that for us; and because of her, it saves me time to concentrate on my work, studies and leisure.
The need to regularize and treat the maids job just like any other job has never been more needed than now.
They must have:
a contract of employment
decent living conditions (in the case of live in domestics)
wholesome food and water
hygienic toiletries
fixed working hours
agreed upon days off
human dignity
wages on time
i would even suggest a scheme that will entitle them to gratuity at the end of their contracts
:) i hope someday, most of these get adopted by the employer: not because someone might make this a law but because it is the right thing to do.
thanks…