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05-01-2025, 09:05 AM
For three months, Farah (not her real name) ate only instant noodles, bread with peanut butter, and drank plain water.
But at the same time, the 38-year-old migrant domestic worker (MDW) from the Philippines was making daily trips to Little Farms, a high-end grocery store known for its organic and gourmet produce, to buy ingredients to prepare meals for her employer.
Her employer, who required her to follow intricate recipes with multiple steps, would not even let her eat the leftovers of these meals she had to prepare, even if the leftovers were kept in the refrigerator for days.
While Farah’s employer permitted her to cook meals for herself, she would frequently make comments about the “smell", even if Farah prepared simple dishes like fried rice with ikan bilis (dried anchovies).
“Although she's not telling you to stop doing it (cooking), she is telling you that the smell is bad and that she doesn’t like it. So, of course, you have to stop,” said Farah, who resorted to eating instant noodles daily sometimes accompanied by a boiled egg, to appease her former employer.
“I used to love preparing food, but in her case, it's like a nightmare,” she told CNA TODAY, adding that she lost 12 kg in those three months.
Farah left her ex-employer in October to go to a shelter and has since left the shelter for a new employer.
“I didn’t feel hungry anymore. I was just numb.”
Farah’s experience sheds light on a troubling grey area in the treatment of domestic workers who are not deprived completely of food to the point of starvation, but are not adequately nourished either, often leaving them constantly hungry and in need of better nutrition and a balanced diet.
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In response to queries from CNA TODAY, a Ministry of Manpower (MOM) spokesperson said that each year between 2019 and 2023, they received around 630 complaints from domestic helpers about receiving insufficient food.
"Most of these complaints stemmed from miscommunication between employers and their MDWs on dietary needs and habits," said the MOM spokesperson.
This accounts for about 0.2 per cent of the total average of the domestic worker population during the same period.
"This compares similarly to the results of MOM’s MDW and MDW Employer Survey 2021, which found that more than 99 per cent of MDWs surveyed were satisfied with the sufficiency of food provided," added the spokesperson.
Speaking to CNA TODAY, Ms Jaya Anil Kumar, senior manager of research and advocacy at the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME), said many employers use a “binary sort of framing” regarding food – they feel there is no issue as long as they are not starving their helpers.
While the number of cases of domestic helpers receiving inadequate food has remained relatively consistent over the years, Ms Jaya said that many of these cases are only brought to light when domestic helpers reach a “breaking point” that is often coupled with more exploitative behaviour such as verbal or physical abuse by their employers.
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Noting that food issues are a nuanced topic given the power imbalance between helpers and their employers, Ms Jaya said: "It's not just about having all the rice you want, (if it comes with) very little meat or vegetables. "
While employers might provide ample staples like rice, the lack of essential proteins and vegetables often results in meals that are low in nutritional value.
Ms Jaya said even if an employer does not explicitly prohibit access to food, if the relationship involves a lot of scolding or verbal abuse, the domestic worker will be afraid to take liberties with food.
Other behaviour includes employers making off-hand comments about the quantity a helper eats, allowing the helper to use certain food items in the pantry but later making snide remarks, and not being aware of religious or cultural sensitivities.
“A lot of domestic workers say that they can only eat what is left over from what they have cooked for their employers,” said Ms Jaya, adding that instances of food rationing are still prevalent.
“For example, a domestic worker can have a maximum of three eggs a day, together with rice, and it is up to her to portion them throughout the day.”
A recent social media post by the Instagram account f***yeahnoms revealed screenshots from a private Facebook group called FDW Employers@Singapore, which showed the attitudes of some employers towards their helpers.
ADVERTISEMENT
Some screenshots showed employers expressing concern that their helpers were eating too much, and sharing their helpers' height and weight to support their argument.
One post began with the question: “Anyone('s) maid is a big eater?”
Other employers in the group were bothered that their helpers used their condiments and seasonings to cook their own food.
One wrote: “I’m pretty sure she’s using my seasonings, too, on top of gas from (the) stove.”
Another post detailed how their helper was "very hungry" and ate "one whole big plate of rice" at 7pm and ate "a (second round) of food" that evening.
Welfare organisations said employers should be aware of the physical demands of domestic work and ensure that their helper's meals are balanced and nutritious (Photo: CNA/ Ooi Boon Keong)
NOT ENOUGH TO EAT, PLENTY OF SURVEILLANCE
Speaking to CNA TODAY, some helpers said food was also used by their employers as a form of control.
Farah's previous employer often used food as a tool of manipulation, offering it as a reward and retracting access to it as a way to punish her.
"She knew I liked peanut butter," she said. "If I did something that displeased her, she would tell me, 'No more peanut butter.'"
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Farah said she bought snacks and secretly stashed them in her room to alleviate her hunger. As her employer had installed a video camera which pointed directly at the fridge, she hesitated to take food from it.
Another domestic helper, Priya (not her real name), who spoke with CNA TODAY through an interpreter, faced the same kind of deprivation. She subsisted on only two to three chapatis (flat bread) a day during her three months with her ex-employer.
The 26-year-old from India said the first 20 days of working with her previous employers were smooth. She ate the food she cooked for her family and had meals with them as well.
For reasons unknown to her, her employer's attitude shifted suddenly, and she was no longer allowed to share their meals. She was also instructed to prepare an "exact amount of food" for the family.
If there were leftovers, she would only be permitted to eat them and nothing else over the next two or three days. If there were no leftovers, she would not get any food to eat.
When the family chose to eat out, they would leave her at home and not buy food back for her. To feed herself, Priya snuck extra vegetables into the pot when preparing her employer's meals and pocketed chapatis to eat in secret later.
"When they were not looking, I would eat it because if they saw me eating, they would scold me," said Priya, who often ate her chapati with just some pickles or dipped in tea.
ADVERTISEMENT
"The food they provided was never enough, and it was often only chapati and nothing else… there were many moments when I would be very hungry," she said.
Priya said that because there was a video camera in her room, she felt like she was always being watched which left her not only constantly hungry but also not being able to rest properly.
Her only respite came on Sundays, her day off, when she could eat at the Sikh Temple or enjoy meals prepared by her friends.
Priya left her employer in December last year for a shelter and has been there since.
Farah, too, relied on her friends for help. They would bring her dishes like pilaf or biryani to ease her hunger. Unable to bring "outside food" into the house, she often ate by the condominium swimming pool or stored meals with the condominium janitor to eat later.
HELPING A MAID WHO SAID SHE WAS 'LAPAR'
Human resource manager Ms Oh, who wanted to be known only by her last name, said she is shocked and feels disturbed by how some employers restrict their helpers' consumption of food.
"It is unacceptable and inhumane for employers to limit their helpers' food intake to the point of hunger," said the 53-year-old who has employed the same helper for nearly 15 years. The helper eats the same food as the family, without any restrictions, she added.
But at the same time, the 38-year-old migrant domestic worker (MDW) from the Philippines was making daily trips to Little Farms, a high-end grocery store known for its organic and gourmet produce, to buy ingredients to prepare meals for her employer.
Her employer, who required her to follow intricate recipes with multiple steps, would not even let her eat the leftovers of these meals she had to prepare, even if the leftovers were kept in the refrigerator for days.
While Farah’s employer permitted her to cook meals for herself, she would frequently make comments about the “smell", even if Farah prepared simple dishes like fried rice with ikan bilis (dried anchovies).
“Although she's not telling you to stop doing it (cooking), she is telling you that the smell is bad and that she doesn’t like it. So, of course, you have to stop,” said Farah, who resorted to eating instant noodles daily sometimes accompanied by a boiled egg, to appease her former employer.
“I used to love preparing food, but in her case, it's like a nightmare,” she told CNA TODAY, adding that she lost 12 kg in those three months.
Farah left her ex-employer in October to go to a shelter and has since left the shelter for a new employer.
“I didn’t feel hungry anymore. I was just numb.”
Farah’s experience sheds light on a troubling grey area in the treatment of domestic workers who are not deprived completely of food to the point of starvation, but are not adequately nourished either, often leaving them constantly hungry and in need of better nutrition and a balanced diet.
ADVERTISEMENT
In response to queries from CNA TODAY, a Ministry of Manpower (MOM) spokesperson said that each year between 2019 and 2023, they received around 630 complaints from domestic helpers about receiving insufficient food.
"Most of these complaints stemmed from miscommunication between employers and their MDWs on dietary needs and habits," said the MOM spokesperson.
This accounts for about 0.2 per cent of the total average of the domestic worker population during the same period.
"This compares similarly to the results of MOM’s MDW and MDW Employer Survey 2021, which found that more than 99 per cent of MDWs surveyed were satisfied with the sufficiency of food provided," added the spokesperson.
Speaking to CNA TODAY, Ms Jaya Anil Kumar, senior manager of research and advocacy at the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME), said many employers use a “binary sort of framing” regarding food – they feel there is no issue as long as they are not starving their helpers.
While the number of cases of domestic helpers receiving inadequate food has remained relatively consistent over the years, Ms Jaya said that many of these cases are only brought to light when domestic helpers reach a “breaking point” that is often coupled with more exploitative behaviour such as verbal or physical abuse by their employers.
ADVERTISEMENT
Noting that food issues are a nuanced topic given the power imbalance between helpers and their employers, Ms Jaya said: "It's not just about having all the rice you want, (if it comes with) very little meat or vegetables. "
While employers might provide ample staples like rice, the lack of essential proteins and vegetables often results in meals that are low in nutritional value.
Ms Jaya said even if an employer does not explicitly prohibit access to food, if the relationship involves a lot of scolding or verbal abuse, the domestic worker will be afraid to take liberties with food.
Other behaviour includes employers making off-hand comments about the quantity a helper eats, allowing the helper to use certain food items in the pantry but later making snide remarks, and not being aware of religious or cultural sensitivities.
“A lot of domestic workers say that they can only eat what is left over from what they have cooked for their employers,” said Ms Jaya, adding that instances of food rationing are still prevalent.
“For example, a domestic worker can have a maximum of three eggs a day, together with rice, and it is up to her to portion them throughout the day.”
A recent social media post by the Instagram account f***yeahnoms revealed screenshots from a private Facebook group called FDW Employers@Singapore, which showed the attitudes of some employers towards their helpers.
ADVERTISEMENT
Some screenshots showed employers expressing concern that their helpers were eating too much, and sharing their helpers' height and weight to support their argument.
One post began with the question: “Anyone('s) maid is a big eater?”
Other employers in the group were bothered that their helpers used their condiments and seasonings to cook their own food.
One wrote: “I’m pretty sure she’s using my seasonings, too, on top of gas from (the) stove.”
Another post detailed how their helper was "very hungry" and ate "one whole big plate of rice" at 7pm and ate "a (second round) of food" that evening.
Welfare organisations said employers should be aware of the physical demands of domestic work and ensure that their helper's meals are balanced and nutritious (Photo: CNA/ Ooi Boon Keong)
NOT ENOUGH TO EAT, PLENTY OF SURVEILLANCE
Speaking to CNA TODAY, some helpers said food was also used by their employers as a form of control.
Farah's previous employer often used food as a tool of manipulation, offering it as a reward and retracting access to it as a way to punish her.
"She knew I liked peanut butter," she said. "If I did something that displeased her, she would tell me, 'No more peanut butter.'"
ADVERTISEMENT
Farah said she bought snacks and secretly stashed them in her room to alleviate her hunger. As her employer had installed a video camera which pointed directly at the fridge, she hesitated to take food from it.
Another domestic helper, Priya (not her real name), who spoke with CNA TODAY through an interpreter, faced the same kind of deprivation. She subsisted on only two to three chapatis (flat bread) a day during her three months with her ex-employer.
The 26-year-old from India said the first 20 days of working with her previous employers were smooth. She ate the food she cooked for her family and had meals with them as well.
For reasons unknown to her, her employer's attitude shifted suddenly, and she was no longer allowed to share their meals. She was also instructed to prepare an "exact amount of food" for the family.
If there were leftovers, she would only be permitted to eat them and nothing else over the next two or three days. If there were no leftovers, she would not get any food to eat.
When the family chose to eat out, they would leave her at home and not buy food back for her. To feed herself, Priya snuck extra vegetables into the pot when preparing her employer's meals and pocketed chapatis to eat in secret later.
"When they were not looking, I would eat it because if they saw me eating, they would scold me," said Priya, who often ate her chapati with just some pickles or dipped in tea.
ADVERTISEMENT
"The food they provided was never enough, and it was often only chapati and nothing else… there were many moments when I would be very hungry," she said.
Priya said that because there was a video camera in her room, she felt like she was always being watched which left her not only constantly hungry but also not being able to rest properly.
Her only respite came on Sundays, her day off, when she could eat at the Sikh Temple or enjoy meals prepared by her friends.
Priya left her employer in December last year for a shelter and has been there since.
Farah, too, relied on her friends for help. They would bring her dishes like pilaf or biryani to ease her hunger. Unable to bring "outside food" into the house, she often ate by the condominium swimming pool or stored meals with the condominium janitor to eat later.
HELPING A MAID WHO SAID SHE WAS 'LAPAR'
Human resource manager Ms Oh, who wanted to be known only by her last name, said she is shocked and feels disturbed by how some employers restrict their helpers' consumption of food.
"It is unacceptable and inhumane for employers to limit their helpers' food intake to the point of hunger," said the 53-year-old who has employed the same helper for nearly 15 years. The helper eats the same food as the family, without any restrictions, she added.
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