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SINGAPORE – Domestic worker Nalin (not her real name) doesn’t get enough sleep every day.
She has been caring for a 92-year-old woman with dementia for two years, caring for her throughout the night.
During the day, you cannot rest, as you are concerned about leaving your caregiver unsupervised.
Another domestic worker, Kevaly (not her real name), has been caring for an 89-year-old stroke patient with early-stage dementia who uses a wheelchair for nine months.
When Kevaly became ill, her employer pressured her to continue working and accompany her position to the nursery for the elderly even though the doctor had provided her with a medical certificate.
These domestic workers were among 25 whose struggles with overwork and lack of support were recounted in a research report published by the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) and the Humanitarian Organization for the Economy of the Migration (Start) on Wednesday (November 11).
Their ages ranged from 27 to 53, with the majority from the Philippines and Myanmar. The domestic workers had worked for an average of five years and four months in Singapore.
In addition to domestic workers, the researchers interviewed four migrant domestic worker (MDW) employment agencies, seven employers of domestic workers for elderly care, and five providers of formal training in elderly care between December 2019 and September. 2020.
Entitled “Neither Family nor Employee,” the research looked at the caregiver burden faced by migrant domestic workers caring for the elderly in Singapore.
In an online press conference, Ms Shailey Hingorani, Aware’s head of research and advocacy, said: “As we age rapidly as a society, our dependence on MDWs is likely to increase.
“Unless we pay specific attention to the consequences of providing mental and physical health care for MDWs, we run the risk of compromising the quality of care provided to our seniors, a lose-out scenario.”
Ms Jaya Anil Kumar, case manager at Home, said that many domestic workers “are afraid to express their concerns and fears.”
She added that many of the domestic workers interviewed said they were overworked and their mental health suffered as a result.
When asked about the small sample size, Ms Hingorani said that this was a qualitative study and that in-depth interviews should be conducted to understand the subjective assessment of domestic workers about the caregiver burden they faced.
He added that the researchers also spoke with stakeholders such as academics, employment agencies and elder care trainers to make sure the findings and recommendations were consistent with the landscape of elder care and whether the recommendations were feasible.
The findings were also presented to six maids in an online discussion group for validation.
The report found three key areas where domestic workers faced challenges and proposed recommendations to address the problems.
Some were incorrectly matched with the recipients of their attention. Of the migrant domestic workers interviewed, 20 percent provided a higher level of care than had been prepared for them before being hired.
Home and Aware suggested creating a standard care needs matrix to identify the level of care needed and establishing an accreditation system to certify the care skills of migrant domestic workers and ensure that workers are adequately trained by providing incentives to employers. to hire skilled workers. .
The report also noted that migrant domestic workers were often overworked, resulting in a burden on caregivers. Approximately 21 of the maids had their sleep regularly interrupted, and more than half had experienced more than two interruptions per night.
The NGOs recommended that the legislation be amended for better protection in order to clearly define the scope of work in working hours and to guarantee access to respite services.
Third, the research found a lack of informational and emotional support for challenging caregiving situations, which included workers subjected to verbal and physical abuse by care recipients.
Of the 11 maids caring for an older person with dementia, six faced verbal abuse while four faced physical abuse.
The NGOs proposed creating caregiver support resources focused on migrant domestic workers, such as a caregiver support group for these workers.
Ms Hingorani said that in the long term, Singapore should professionalize internal caregivers and homecare workers.
This would strengthen the valuation and compensation of care work and make the care industry more attractive, he added.
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