by Kellynn Wee
The words that a migrant domestic worker in
Singapore repeats most are probably “yes ma’am.”
“Pick up the kids at 3 pm after school.” “Yes
ma’am.”
“Put less salt in the chicken next time.” “Yes
ma’am.”
Yes, ma’am.
But while marking #InternationalMigrantsDay,
we investigate the meanings of “yes ma’am”, and how domestic workers are able
to re-negotiate the terms of their employment by using the “yes ma’am”
script to serve their own needs.
James Scott, an anthropologist writing about
village status hierarchies in Malaysia, outlines his concept of the ‘theatre of
power’. In this theatre, Scott argues, ‘public transcripts’ — commonly
occurring patterns of communicating such as the “yes ma’am” dialogue — reflect
expected social and cultural norms. They are used where one group (in this
case, the employer) has power over another (here, the worker).
The public transcript of “yes ma’am” indicates
a performance of deference, obedience, and submissiveness: standing in an
attitude of listening and attentive politeness; ensuring that one’s tone of
voice is quiet and respectful; and endeavouring never to contradict or argue
with one’s employer.
 |
| We speak to two experienced Taiwan-bound domestic workers at a training centre in Jakarta. |
Public transcripts occur alongside what Scott
calls "hidden transcripts”: “offstage speeches, gestures, and practices
that confirm, contradict, or inflect what happens in the public transcript”
(Scott 1990: p. 4).
These hidden transcripts develop
best when they are shared amongst those who are not in power. Domestic workers
teach each other hidden transcripts to deal with difficult situations. These
might include insufficient food, no/few days off, late payment of salaries, overwhelming workloads, lack of sleep, and
expectation from the employer that they will work in multiple households.
Without obvious instances of physical, verbal,
or sexual abuse, and the need to pay off hefty loans ranging up to SGD
$3000 (USD $2123) during the first 6-8 months of her contract,
a migrant domestic worker may not wish to seek help from external authorities which
might cost her her job.
So they turn to each other for advice
instead. Experienced domestic workers say that there are ways to
effectively communicate their needs to their employers — you just have to do it
right. They know very well what an employer expects — and they are able to use
the expected ‘public transcript' to their advantage.
“You need to be ‘down’ when you’re taking to
the employer,” explains Nuraini, an Indonesian domestic worker who has been in
Singapore for 14 years. “Make sure you make eye contact, don’t look away. The
voice is not hostile, not like, 'HEY MA’AM'!”
Tinah, a Filipino domestic worker who has been
in Singapore for 23 years, recalls the advice she gave to a friend, who had
been employed to work in two houses. This is illegal under Singaporean law,
which stipulates that domestic workers are allowed to work only at the address
stated on their Work Permits:
"If you‘re unhappy about this
[situation], then talk directly to your employer. You can say:
‘Ma'am, this is not really a legal thing to do. I‘m so scared if I‘m
going to work there, what if the Ministry of Manpower visits and they see
me and they report me, then what will happen to me? I am not only jeopardising
my stay here to work, but also you, because how much is the fine?’”
When Tinah relates the script that she
suggests the migrant worker should use, she does not simply utter the words:
she performs them. Her voice takes on a tone of uncertainty and fear, and she
spreads her hands out in a conciliatory gesture. This is in keeping with
the expected ‘act’ that should play out between maid and madam — a migrant
domestic worker should refrain from being too forward and should be keen
to put her employer first.
This is not a confrontational approach; it
does not invoke a rights-based discourse — however, it subtly articulates
a worker's knowledge of the legislation that has been put into place to
protect her, presents her complaints in a socially acceptable way, and seeks to
improve the conditions of her work.
Had she spoken to her employer in a way that
deviates from the public transcript (such as with a tone of aggression or
anger), she might have risked openly transgressing her ‘appropriate’
social location in relation to her employer; by couching it in a performance of
subservience, she might be able to win benefits without reprisal.
Nuraini suggests that workers ‘set the stage’
in the theatre of power by ensuring that conditions are ideal for employers to
be receptive to workers’ requests. Surroundings should be tidy; employers are
best approached after a well-cooked meal and some rest. Respectful addresses
like ‘ma’am’ or ‘sir’ should be frequently employed.
“Say 'please' and 'thank you', always, ‘yes
ma'am'; explain nicely. Don‘t make your body language hostile. Stay
professional. Don't back down, keep your hands down, don't gesture too much […]
Talk to them when they’re in a good mood, not during their meal. Say, 'ma'am,
can I speak to you about my salary, how come you haven't paid me, it's due
already... the rule is after seven days, it is the deadline...' […] 'Hi ma'am,
can I take an off day, just from 9-6'; if your employer would like to deduct
from the salary, then that‘s fine... It‘s a negotiation.”
 |
| Leaders from the Filipino Family Network conduct a briefing. The domestic worker run organisation conducts classes and organises social gatherings helping newcomers to Singapore develop networks. |
Nuraini suggests that workers adopt a posture
of professional politeness (such as maintaining steady eye contact and not
appearing overly uncertain), while keeping to expectations of the public
transcript — explicitly acknowledging the superiority of the
employer, building an overall impression of humility, taking the initiative to
circumscribe the boundaries of ‘privileges’ (such as a day off) in order to
indicate a willingness to compromise. Like Tinah, she suggests that the worker
display her knowledge of protective legislation, such as deadlines for salary
payments.
Scott says that a mastery of the “theatre of
power” may “become an actual political resource of subordinates […] what may
look from above like the extraction of a required performance can easily look
from below like the artful manipulation of deference and flattery to achieve
its own ends” (Scott 1990: p. 35).
Migrant workers independently undertake a
range of strategies to improve their working conditions within the countries in
which they work. This may range from protests, creating unions, participating
in campaigns – to giving each other pragmatic advice about delicately
navigating through tensions at work.
While these ‘transcripts’, taught by
experienced workers to fresher faces, may not fundamentally transform the state
of migrants’ rights, they are a concrete and practical tool to secure advances
in what a worker eats, when a worker sleeps, and where a worker goes — items of
negotiation fundamental to day-to-day life.
Migrant workers are not always passive victims
of abuse or sacrificial heroes, as they are often presented in the media; they,
too, are employees like many others — caught within structural forms of
disempowerment, but able to strategise their way through with mutual help and
support.
ARI and the Migrating out of Poverty team wish
all migrants a happy International Migrants’ Day!
Kellynn Wee is Research and Communications Officer at the Asia Research Institute (ARI) at the National University of Singapore. This blog post is a slightly amended version of the text originally published on ARI's blog at: https://arimoop.wordpress.com/2015/12/19/yes-maam/ on 19 December 2015. It draws on Kellynn's personal research, conducted in 2014 for her undergraduate thesis:‘Work Permitted: Foreign Domestic Workers‘
Collective Strategies of Negotiation in Singapore’. With many thanks to the Indonesian Family Network, the Filipino Family
Network and Transient Workers Count Too for their help in facilitating the fieldwork.
References
Scott,
J. (1990). Domination and the arts of resistance:
hidden transcripts. New
Haven: Yale University Press.
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