Term 3 Week 2 (Blogging Assignment)

An article entitled 'The Religion of Water' was published in The Straits Times on 7 July 2011. In the article, it was mentioned that ' within countries, there is debate over whether water should be treated as a human right or as a commodity, access to which is determined by the market.' Please read the article.

Is there a difference between treating water as a human right and as a commodity? In your opinion, should water be treated as a human right or as a commodity?

Water as a right precedes water as a commodity - the intrinsic value of the Earth's fresh water precedes its utility and commercial value.

Water is essential to life and, therefore, cannot be considered a normal good. Humans are completely dependent on water for sustenance. No other good is able to take the place of water in the maintenance of human life; none fits this description. While food is a necessity for human life, all foods can be substituted by other foods. This makes water even more unique and necessary than food in the preservation of life; there is no substitute for it. As such, water has a special place in the lives of humans. It is not like other commodities. Our right to life and all other rights that are dependent on or relevant to life are dependent on access to water. Water should therefore take its rightful place as a right.

The extraction and supply of water has many externalities that need to be considered and protected against by the governments, which make it a non-normal good. Water extraction can cause serious environmental harm if done irresponsibly or carelessly, without a regard for the environment. It can lead to a large number of casualties of wildlife and human life. If water supply is done irresponsibly and no action is taken to curb or control the output, it can result in water depletion and the resulting scarcity may cause broad economic shocks.

Furthermore, the fluidity and mobility of water makes it very difficult or even impossible to stake ownership. Water reserves and resources are incredibly hard to stake ownership over. Various factors such as evaporation and river flows are natural forces that make water different from land as far as the ability to claim ownership over a certain portion goes.

T3W1 Weekly Blogging Assignment

Article (Source: The Straits Times)

SINGAPORE should consider legislation that makes employers give their domestic helpers a rest day every week, said Madam Halimah Yacob, the Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports.

Speaking on the sidelines of a community sports festival at Singapore Polytechnic, she said that giving maids a day off might help to minimise some issues such as stress and overwork that domestic workers are facing now.

Just like other workers who enjoy a rest day, domestic workers, too, need to rest and should not be made to work excessive hours that could affect their health and well-being, she added.

She was commenting on the new International Labour Organisation convention that was approved last week in Geneva to grant domestic workers greater protection from exploitation.

Singapore was among 63 voters which abstained from voting on the convention, and the Ministry of Manpower has said it would sign the treaty only when it was sure it could implement it here, and that it would continue to review the rights and responsibilities of employers and workers.

Saying that Singapore takes its international obligations seriously, Madam Halimah expressed hope that Singapore would 'take stock of its laws and policies and progressively make changes' to be in line with the convention.

Separate Article (Source: The Straits Times)

A survey by non-governmental organisations here has found that few Indonesian maids get days off, with only 38 per cent having at least one day off a month. This is in contrast to 85 per cent of Filipino maids getting at least one day off a month.

THREE non-governmental organisations have echoed veteran labour leader Halimah Yacob's call to legislate weekly days off for maids.

The three groups surveyed 108 employers and found that 45 per cent do not give their maids a single day off in a month.

Other survey findings

 On average, maids here work for around 14 hours a day, though most - nearly 60 per cent - are able to get one to two hours of rest during the workday.

 More than half the maids start work at 6am and end work between 8pm and 9pm, according to their employers. A quarter end work at 10pm.

 About 90 per cent of employers listed 'performing household chores' as the most common task. Slightly over 40 per cent of maids look after school-age children, and 25 per cent care for the elderly.

 Among those who do give maids a day off, the most common reasons cited were 'our maid deserves a day off' or that she 'has a right to a day off'.

 Half the employers surveyed said they would consider giving their maids a day off if the security bond was lifted. Employers stand to lose at least $2,500 if a maid absconds and cannot be repatriated. About 16 per cent said they would definitely grant days off if the bond was abolished.

 Employer satisfaction levels are high, with nearly 80 per cent of those polled agreeing or strongly agreeing that their maids perform their tasks effectively.

In your opinion, should the giving of weekly days off be legislated in Singapore?

In my opinion, the giving of weekly days off should be legislated in Singapore. Due to their flexible working times, maids often work from the wee hours of the morning to sometimes 10pm or later. Furthermore, most maids have no choice but to submit to their employers’ will, as they could be fired simply for not doing so. Therefore, if the employer wills so, maids may not be able to even take monthly off days on time, or perhaps not at all. On average, maids work for around 14 hours a day, and are sometimes able to get between one to two hours of rest during the workday. Compared to the general working hours in Singapore, the working hours for maids can be considered to be very long. As such, they should be allowed a weekly off day so as to rest or socialise with their friends after a long week. Some maids are tasked with taking care of children or the elderly, and both jobs have numerous difficulties. It can be very exhausting to spend an entire day dealing with disobedient children or senile elderly. In some cases, the maid can no longer stand the stress of the job and abuses the children or elderly. It can be said that a maid has the potential to do much harm to a family. As a Chinese saying goes, even while keeping a lookout day and night, it is hard to guard against a thief in one’s own house. As the maid is taken into the trust of the family, if she decides to harm the family, it is hard for one to find out or guard against. Hence, due to the stress maids face daily from children and the elderly, they should get weekly off days to take a break. This would help to reduce incidents where the maid is too stressed and harms those she is supposed to take care of. Furthermore, if the maids put in effort to take care of the children or elderly well, they should all the more be given a weekly break – they deserve it. Some employers may choose not to respect the maid’s rights or the effort the maid put in, and hence a legislation is needed to enforce this.