Employeeing domestic servants
By udaymohan
@udaymohan (437)
India
August 16, 2010 6:52am CST
In my Country, there was almost a tradition in middle class families to employ a male servant for general domestic work and a female servant for cleanig utensils, sweeping and washing floors etc. The salary was reasonable and we could afford also.
However, of late, problem has started surfacing and are rather aggravating due to demand of high salary. We cannot blame them also because cost of everything is rising rapidly. The high rate of inflation is affecting each and everybody. Obviously poors are suffering much more than other middle class people.
Politics also came in the way and such servants started making Union. Now, they come in a big group, surround the house and almost force their employers for conceding their demands. Result was that people started terminating services of such servants.
However, there is better part also. People have started doing their work themselves, a habit which they had forgotten long back. This means that they would be healthier also and understand that Work is Worship.
As far as I am concerned, we do all our work ourselves including cleaning utensils and sweeping floors. We are satisfied.
6 responses
@Warogue678 (165)
• Belarus
16 Aug 10
I think you should do the work by yourselves. Let's say you move to another country where having servant is not good and maybe unlegal (no it's not unlegal), but you should do the work by yourself. And what if you can't clean toilets? What happens? You end up killed by a disease which came from the dirty toilet. XD
1 person likes this
@udaymohan (437)
• India
17 Aug 10
I fully agree with you. We must inculcate habit of doing all work ourselves including cleaning the toilets.
@Nickfyoung (323)
• Australia
16 Aug 10
It seems that it is only the so called third world countries that use 'servants'. In most third world countries there is a large gap between the many poor and the few wealthy. So the few wealthy employ some of the many poor as servants because they can afford the meager payments. In the majority of so called first world countries, most can't afford to employ servants because wages are more equal. In a first world country the standard of living is so high, most families work two or three jobs and clean their own house just to keep up. You could say that it is a good thing to employ servants as it is creating jobs. The problem is, when the poor are so many and the wages so low, that the working class, not the wealthy class, can afford to employ servants. When this is the case then servants become more of a status symbol and the very poor are exploited.
@Nickfyoung (323)
• Australia
17 Aug 10
Do think, in the Philippines, people really need a helper. I suppose if both parents are working then it is handy to have a helper. My wife was like that. She always had helpers and never did any housework. Now she does not know how to do it so I have to do it all.
@oplopez81 (158)
• Philippines
17 Aug 10
I agree on the points that you have stated here. I had the opportunity to live in New Zealand for 9 months and of course I do not have the capcity to employ anyone as a house helper. The living standards are just so high that employing one would mean half of your earnings will go to your helper's wages. :-)) In the Philippines, it is really not considered a status symbol when you employ a helper. Some households even envy those who do not have helpers because it only shows that they can manage on their own. But sometimes one cannot really do without a helper not because they are too lazy to do household chores but more on the need to have one.
@oplopez81 (158)
• Philippines
17 Aug 10
Hahaha. That's true. Many families in the Philippines have both parents who are working and helpers really come in handy. I have several friends who grew with househelps and never learned to do any housework. In my case though, I always see to it that my kids would sometimes help in the housework even if we have helpers. For now, we don't have one. Aside from the significant savings we generate, my kids are learning housework because they do not have any choice. :-))
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
16 Aug 10
hi udaymohan In the US most of us do o ur own maid and butler work, and always have. only the extremely wealthy can afford a bunch of servants.
I never cared to have p eople messing around in myhouse anyway as I
know how I wanted things kept and also I hate the idea of middle class p people overworking their servants for lousy wages just because they dont want to p ay them a decent wage. I do not blame themn for forming unions as a lot of people mistreat them as they see them as semi slaves. they are honorable people working for a living and should be treated as first class citizens not slaves.What is wrong with middle class people getting their hands dirty and doing their own work. here in the US we all do our own work.
@rosdimy (3926)
• Malaysia
16 Aug 10
Your situation can be analysed from more than one angle. There are two main angles here, one focusing on your side, and the other focusing on the people working as house helpers. That is the term used in my country.
Looking at your side it can be said that it is a blessing in disguise. At least members of your family have learnt not to rely on other people in doing something which you can do yourself. There is also a saving of money to look at.
Personally I think inflation is not a strong reason for those working as house helpers to demand for more money. They should have negotiated with their employers. They should have realised that in an economic recession everybody is affected. Unreasonable demands can only cause a spiral in the inflationary rate. Or are they too simple minded? As it is they have become losers in this issue. Most probably they are now scrounging for a living now, and finding it hard to find a job.
All the best to you.
@allamgirl (2140)
• Philippines
16 Aug 10
i don't have anything against you or your country, but i just honestly hate the word servant. i mean, to me, it sounds degrading. i'm sorry if i feel that way, but maybe that's just me. i personally prefer the term helper. that's better-sounding or me, and more humane. anyway, it's good that people in your country are learning to work for themselves. that way, they get to feel somehow, the work that they are putting their 'servants' through.
@udaymohan (437)
• India
17 Aug 10
Thanks for your response. The word sevant does not degrading a person neither the word 'helper' would enhance prestige of the servant. I will discuss this matter seperately
@oplopez81 (158)
• Philippines
17 Aug 10
Hi udaymohan. I do not see anything wrong with hiring a house helper as long as you can afford to pay the salary and you treat your helper with dignity. There are really households who need househelpers because they can not do the chores by themselves as they are much too occupied with their jobs. This practice also creates jobs for the unskilled. I do not, however, agree on househelpers forming unions and asking for unreasonable demands.
