SINGAPORE: After six years of working as a foreign domestic worker, 33-year-old Moe Zin decided to explore a different path as a cleaner.
"I take care of Ah Gong 24 hours (a day). He's sleeping, also I sleep. He wakes up, I also wake up … I don't have my own time … so I decided I want freedom,” said the Myanmar national of her job as a maid.
With that in mind, she decided to make the switch.
For about three months, she has been working for MEIDE.SG, which specialises in arranging cleaning services for homes and offices. Her peers have also been keen to become cleaners, she told CNA.
According to some cleaning companies like Ms Moe Zin's, applications from foreign domestic workers who want to become cleaners have almost doubled compared to six months ago.
While specific reasons for the switch are unclear, firms said they believe higher pay and better flexibility are some factors.
On top of that, the launch of the Household Services Scheme in 2021 was also helpful for companies in securing full-time manpower.
Under the scheme, which was launched as a pilot in 2017 before being formalised, firms can hire migrant workers to provide services such as home cleaning and car washing.
The scheme was expanded in 2023 to allow companies to hire more migrant workers to provide basic care for children and the elderly.
Mr Pierre Tan, founder of MEIDE.SG, said his company has seen a nearly 10-fold increase in the number of full-time workers servicing households in Singapore.
“Before that, a lot of our cleaning companies or platforms were relying on gig workers, part-time workers, but there are quite a lot of issues with (them),” he added.
“For one, their cleaning skills are quite volatile. Some of them are really good; some of them are really just students, and they may not be that passionate about doing the cleaning.”
By hiring full-time workers under the Household Services Scheme, Mr Tan said there is a more “standardised quality” of cleaning.
Ms Moe Zin with a client's child.
Most of the workers he has hired hail from Myanmar like Ms Moe Zin, Mr Tan added, with some coming from countries like China and India.
He said many younger women may not want to stay with their employers, as their older counterparts may have been comfortable doing. They could also desire more freedom like having a partner, which the families they work for may frown on.
This has helped the company to deal with a surge in demand for its services.
Due to the New Year as well as the upcoming Chinese New Year festivities, about three times more customers have been inquiring about cleaning and babysitting services, said Mr Tan.
Meanwhile, another cleaning company – Sendhelper by Propertyguru – has found it tough to rely on its pool of local freelancers during busy periods.
They are usually older and have the flexibility to pick up cleaning jobs whenever convenient for them, said the firm’s senior product manager Yeo Huiling.
"During the festive period, we actually see that for the part-time freelancers, a lot of them are actually taking the time off because they are also local. They celebrate Chinese New Year as well, and they take the time to take a break and spend time with their family,” she said.
To keep up with growing demand and maintain service quality during this period, the company turns to contract workers. This allows the firm to have two sources of manpower.
Ms Yeo said it also works closely with its partner firms, which hire workers from around the world who travel to Singapore to get training and employment.
The company has invested in training programmes as well.
“Last year, we … hired someone with a hospitality background to train both our freelancers as well as our contract workers to make sure that they meet a very high service standard,” Ms Yeo added.
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"I take care of Ah Gong 24 hours (a day). He's sleeping, also I sleep. He wakes up, I also wake up … I don't have my own time … so I decided I want freedom,” said the Myanmar national of her job as a maid.
With that in mind, she decided to make the switch.
For about three months, she has been working for MEIDE.SG, which specialises in arranging cleaning services for homes and offices. Her peers have also been keen to become cleaners, she told CNA.
According to some cleaning companies like Ms Moe Zin's, applications from foreign domestic workers who want to become cleaners have almost doubled compared to six months ago.
HIGHER PAY, MORE FLEXIBILITY
While specific reasons for the switch are unclear, firms said they believe higher pay and better flexibility are some factors.
On top of that, the launch of the Household Services Scheme in 2021 was also helpful for companies in securing full-time manpower.
Under the scheme, which was launched as a pilot in 2017 before being formalised, firms can hire migrant workers to provide services such as home cleaning and car washing.
The scheme was expanded in 2023 to allow companies to hire more migrant workers to provide basic care for children and the elderly.
Mr Pierre Tan, founder of MEIDE.SG, said his company has seen a nearly 10-fold increase in the number of full-time workers servicing households in Singapore.
“Before that, a lot of our cleaning companies or platforms were relying on gig workers, part-time workers, but there are quite a lot of issues with (them),” he added.
“For one, their cleaning skills are quite volatile. Some of them are really good; some of them are really just students, and they may not be that passionate about doing the cleaning.”
By hiring full-time workers under the Household Services Scheme, Mr Tan said there is a more “standardised quality” of cleaning.
Ms Moe Zin with a client's child.
Most of the workers he has hired hail from Myanmar like Ms Moe Zin, Mr Tan added, with some coming from countries like China and India.
He said many younger women may not want to stay with their employers, as their older counterparts may have been comfortable doing. They could also desire more freedom like having a partner, which the families they work for may frown on.
This has helped the company to deal with a surge in demand for its services.
Due to the New Year as well as the upcoming Chinese New Year festivities, about three times more customers have been inquiring about cleaning and babysitting services, said Mr Tan.
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TURNING TO CONTRACT WORKERS
Meanwhile, another cleaning company – Sendhelper by Propertyguru – has found it tough to rely on its pool of local freelancers during busy periods.
They are usually older and have the flexibility to pick up cleaning jobs whenever convenient for them, said the firm’s senior product manager Yeo Huiling.
"During the festive period, we actually see that for the part-time freelancers, a lot of them are actually taking the time off because they are also local. They celebrate Chinese New Year as well, and they take the time to take a break and spend time with their family,” she said.
To keep up with growing demand and maintain service quality during this period, the company turns to contract workers. This allows the firm to have two sources of manpower.
Ms Yeo said it also works closely with its partner firms, which hire workers from around the world who travel to Singapore to get training and employment.
The company has invested in training programmes as well.
“Last year, we … hired someone with a hospitality background to train both our freelancers as well as our contract workers to make sure that they meet a very high service standard,” Ms Yeo added.
Continue reading...