Singapore Expats

Hi ,

We have decided to get a live in maid since we have two big dogs at home and it becomes quiet inconvenient not to mention way to expensive to find boarding for them, even more so at a short notice.

So we have decided to look for a live in maid fresh from Philippines since we were advised -they speak better English and are generally not scared of dogs which to us is a prime criteria -The maid agencies called the guardian at the katong shopping mall are helping us short list but they mentioned that we have to pay something called a POEA which is an amount the employer pays to the Philippines govt to get the worker to come to Singapore to work for us - its about 285$.

has anyone paid this amount earlier or has any insight ?

Appreciate your thoughts on this

tina1980 wrote:Hi ,

We have decided to get a live in maid since we have two big dogs at home and it becomes quiet inconvenient not to mention way to expensive to find boarding for them, even more so at a short notice.

So we have decided to look for a live in maid fresh from Philippines since we were advised -they speak better English and are generally not scared of dogs which to us is a prime criteria -The maid agencies called the guardian at the katong shopping mall are helping us short list but they mentioned that we have to pay something called a POEA which is an amount the employer pays to the Philippines govt to get the worker to come to Singapore to work for us - its about 285$.

has anyone paid this amount earlier or has any insight ?

Appreciate your thoughts on this

Phillippino maids are good. My own Philippino maid is very hardworking and obedient. You tell her to do something, she gets right on it like the dedicated maid she is. I agree that Philippino maids speak better English compared to the Malaysian maids. Malaysians are hopeless with English.

giahoto wrote:Phillippino maids are good. My own Philippino maid is very hardworking and obedient. You tell her to do something, she gets right on it like the dedicated maid she is. I agree that Philippino maids speak better English compared to the Malaysian maids. Malaysians are hopeless with English.

Truly, with this quote, you absolutely confirm that you are Singaporean, and a Chinese Singaporean to boot, I suspect.

Strong Eagle wrote:

giahoto wrote:Phillippino maids are good. My own Philippino maid is very hardworking and obedient. You tell her to do something, she gets right on it like the dedicated maid she is. I agree that Philippino maids speak better English compared to the Malaysian maids. Malaysians are hopeless with English.

Truly, with this quote, you absolutely confirm that you are Singaporean, and a Chinese Singaporean to boot, I suspect.

You, like most of your kind, don't know much about Singapore or the world, do you?

Of course I am Singaporean and a very proud Singaporean at that. Unlike many countries in the world, Singapore is not in debt, does not have obesity, drug, gun, crime etc etc problems. Every time I look at my red passport I can't help but feel soooo happy.

Where do you stay? My Philippino maid makes very good potato curry and I will be glad to bring you some curry if you like.

giahoto wrote:

Strong Eagle wrote:

giahoto wrote:Phillippino maids are good. My own Philippino maid is very hardworking and obedient. You tell her to do something, she gets right on it like the dedicated maid she is. I agree that Philippino maids speak better English compared to the Malaysian maids. Malaysians are hopeless with English.

Truly, with this quote, you absolutely confirm that you are Singaporean, and a Chinese Singaporean to boot, I suspect.

You, like most of your kind, don't know much about Singapore or the world, do you?

Of course I am Singaporean and a very proud Singaporean at that. Unlike many countries in the world, Singapore is not in debt, does not have obesity, drug, gun, crime etc etc problems. Every time I look at my red passport I can't help but feel soooo happy.

Where do you stay? My Philippino maid makes very good potato curry and I will be glad to bring you some curry if you like.

The word is prideful not proud. At least in your case. And, unless you are as myopic as fully 70+% of the Singaporeans living here on this red dot, you must have noticed the multitudes of overweight & obese Singaporeans out there. Some more, the males are so unfit due to the carrying of all school books by maids, that they tend to die while on forced marches in BMT. Methinks you should walk a little more quietly.....

sundaymorningstaple wrote: The word is prideful not proud. At least in your case. And, unless you are as myopic as fully 70+% of the Singaporeans living here on this red dot, you must have noticed the multitudes of overweight & obese Singaporeans out there. Some more, the males are so unfit due to the carrying of all school books by maids, that they tend to die while on forced marches in BMT. Methinks you should walk a little more quietly.....

Can you read? Or do I have to like type like this so that you can like read ya'll?

I am proud and you are prideful. You are prideful because you can't accept the truth. Sorry to burst your bubble. You want a hug? You can hug my maid.

giahoto wrote:Where do you stay?

I don't 'stay' anywhere. I do 'live' somewhere, however.

giahoto wrote: Phillippino maids are good. My own Philippino maid is very hardworking and obedient. You tell her to do something, she gets right on it like the dedicated maid she is. I agree that Philippino maids speak better English compared to the Malaysian maids. Malaysians are hopeless with English.

Are there Malaysian maids in Singapore? I thought they were all Indonesians?

By the way, it's Filipino, just being pedantic, like...

Looks like we got off track here ...

Was wondering if anyone has any idea about the POEA I mentioned - Are the employers supposed to pay this (This is a latest development as per the maid agency ) but of course I would like to check !

Also my current maid agency seems to be pretty laid back .

Recollecting my last conversation with a Domestic worker the Agency shortlisted ,Of course my first question to her - Are you afraid of dogs (given that's my main criteria ) and she thought for a minute and said yes but she would learn - But to me is a difficult buy coz you are either scared of dogs or not. So I did give up on this DH.

But then got a call back from the agency that there was some confusion and the person I spoke to is not actually afraid of dogs ...

Hmmm - makes me suspicious -I dont want to go through all the pain of paying a lot for someone , bringing her here only to discover she is scared of my dogs ...

Any suggestions ? Do I need to go to atleast a few maid agencies so I get to choose -How does this whole thing work !!!?

tina1980 wrote:Any suggestions ? Do I need to go to atleast a few maid agencies so I get to choose -How does this whole thing work !!!?

In general it's hard to believe details in maid resumes. Ages are often overstated and skills exaggerated. It's a bit of a lucky draw when it comes to choosing a suitable maid.

As for the fees, your best source of accurate information is the Embassy of the Philippines here. Their webpage on household service workers doesn't include the $285 fee you mentioned, so you may want to give them a call to verify.

we just moved here and I was reading Tina1980 about finding a live in maid because she has dogs. I have the exact same thing!!!! I looked into boarding and it is so expensive and I want them to be well cared for when we decide to travel. Tina1980 did you ever find someone?
Thanks[/quote]

Anybody in Philippines, legally going overseas must pay the official government fees, payable to POEA - and that takes off a month's salary off the maid (well, they pay before even they start to see money .. )

And then it is the law that any maid must go through agent in Phil - so another 2 or 3 months salary gone ..

And then the Singapore agent takes another 2 or 3 months salary - and then people wonder why the maids are looking to part time or find a BF to make money on the side ..

Well, my 2 cents - there are good maids, and good agencies who don't fleece the maid or the employer

There is a ranking system - and I know some of them, who have accumulated no penalty points, simply because the people I know are known to walk away from making money than short-change the employer and / or the maid ..

As for boarding when you are away, I would safely say, if you are used to prolonged time periods away from Singapore - don't get a maid - an Idle Mind is ..


PS: I have seen interviews by the agents, when a maid said she don't like dogs' the agent quitely decides to throw the resume away - and some maids say they want employer change because 'Ma'am got pregnant and I don't like taking care of babies' - the agents i know blacklist these maids mentally - as trouble maids .. Experience in the industry .. I guess ..

Why not get a transfer maid, i.e. someone who is here already? Am I missing something?

Ratpick_2000 wrote:Why not get a transfer maid, i.e. someone who is here already? Am I missing something?

Between a transfer and new - they got their own merit's and demerits

Only the employer and a good agent can decide and choose

my 2 cents .. !!!

ecureilx wrote:

Ratpick_2000 wrote:Why not get a transfer maid, i.e. someone who is here already? Am I missing something?

Between a transfer and new - they got their own merit's and demerits

Only the employer and a good agent can decide and choose

my 2 cents .. !!!

Can you elaborate?