Maid Had $40K Salary Withheld From Her By Employer, Not Able To Speak To Family For 7 Years

By
Zhi Hao
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Picture this:

You’re away from home on an overseas work trip, but it’s not exactly your ideal ‘dream workplace’ there. For one, you gotta work 16 hours a day, seven days a week. For two you get your salary, a meagre $280 a month, held back from you. For three, you can’t own a mobile phone, can’t interact with your family back home and can’t apply for home leave.

“***?” you cuss at me. “Well screw you; how dare you make me picture that kind of scenario?!”

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Yeah, I know; the situation I painted above isn’t exactly something you’ll put in a show like Blue’s Clues. But do you wanna know the really horrifying thing here?

“What?” you ask.

The situation I ‘imagined’ above is real.

Image: Giphy

The Employers From ‘Hell’

Meet the Robinsons. They treat their workers pretty badly.

Alright, I’m just kidding; they’re not that Robinsons. But the latter part’s pretty true:

Their worker, Anjappar (not her real name), was treated really badly.

Having worked for her employer for nearly 10 years, Anjappar had more than $40,000 worth of salary withheld from her.

$40,000.

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Additionally, Ms Anjappar wasn’t allowed to hold onto any money, as well as her own passport and Work Permit. She was granted zero rest days as well.

And I haven’t even touched the tip of the banana. Not only were Ms Anjappar’s appeals for home leave declined by the same employer, but she was also not allowed to own a mobile phone. This led to a conversational absence with her family for almost 7 years.

Last but definitely not least, Ms Anjappar worked from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily, and wasn’t allowed to associate with strangers (like other domestic workers) in the neighbourhood. She was also never shown or given a copy of her own employment contract.

Forced Labour

In a joint report released on 15 Jan, the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home) and the Hong Kong-based group Liberty Shared highlighted many examples of forced labour, with Ms Anjappar’s case being one of them.

Lest you’re wondering, forced labour, as interpreted by the International Labour Organisation, points to all work or service extracted from a person “under the menace of any penalty and for which (he/she) has not offered himself voluntarily”.

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As it is, Ms Anjappar eventually sought help from Home, and after a MOM mediation, her outstanding wages were finally cleared.

“Hah, finally,” my Aunt Matilda commented. “About time, suckas. Time for some karma’s a bitch. Hit it.”

However, they weren’t actually publicly penalised. “It was deemed by MOM that the matter was successfully resolved once Indah’s wages were received,” said the report.

“Are you ****ing kidding me? Anjappar has been suffering for like 10 years and you’re telling me her tormentors are just walking free?”

It’s life, my dear deranged Aunt.

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“**** this. I’m going home.”

Not gonna miss you.

Ill-treatment is very, very real

The days when slaves toiled tirelessly for their employers might be long over, but like all sheep farms, there’s bound to be a black sheep somewhere. So if you encounter someone who looks like he/she needs help, whichever sector it might be… you might wanna keep an eye out for them. After all…

You never know whether you can help to save their ‘lives’ one day.

“But don’t go talking to them out of the blue, you hear me? You never know whether they’re the victims, or just playing ‘victims’!” Aunt Matilda said.

I thought you went home?

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“Just stopping by for a quick snack. You want some of these peanuts?”

No thanks.

“Well suit yourself. You’re probably sick of them since your nuts are as small as peas.”

**** you, Aunt Matilda.

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Zhi Hao
Email: [email protected]