By Wang Junrong
Translated by Chen Shuling
In view of the events that maids accompany hosts to sleep exposed in different places, the trade association of household service industry and other departments in Shanghai are drafting contract terms of household service to forbid maids'accompanying hosts to sleep over the whole city. It's said that up to now, the first contract of household service for the whole city has been prepared, of which two versions have been drafted respectively for employees and agents to call for comments. Both versions stipulate definitely that maids shouldn't be arranged to live in the same room with people of the same age and the opposite sex. Chinese Version >>
Maids'accompanying hosts to sleep has become a fact which can not be ignored. They're under no obligation to accompany hosts to sleep. However, because of money, such companion has become one of maids' responsibilities which shows the embarrass and the pains in life. Imagine, without the life stress, who would be willing to be a sleep-accompanying maid?
It must be admitted that the juristical problems arising in such cases need solutions. If we don't say 'No' to maids' accompanying hosts to sleep, more social tragedies would be incurred. But anyway, it's a private matter. In my opinion, it should be settled 'privately' too.
In fact, can such cases be stopped by a mere scrap of paper? Even the household service companies consider that the rules of forbidding maids from being arranged to live with people of the same age and the opposite sex are quite useless. What's the meaning of the contract which is doomed to be waste paper? We all know that it would be very hard to execute these rules practically. If maids accompanying hosts to sleep causes juristical problems such as rape, the Criminal Law would certainly deal with it. To have such rules in the contract is only an unnecessary move.
It's immoral for maids to sleep with the hosts. Maybe there're two reasons. First, the countryside is still poor in reality. Many rural workers come to cities but find no good job to support families. They have no choice but to sleep with their hosts. We believe that, with the carrying out of new rural insurance, new countryside would have 'new appearance'. When more farmers become richer, fewer would come to cities for accopanying hosts to sleep. And secondly, more and more old people live alone. The increase of old people can't be denied while the society and families haven't shown enough care about them. Probably, many old people want to dispel their lonely feelings by asking maids to accompany them to sleep. If the society cares more about old people and makes better and more pratical arrangement in both material and mental aspects, they would then not ask maids for company.
Maids'accompanying hosts to sleep is an embarrassing fact in society. But as
it happens secretly, why not to settle it secretly as well? There's no need to
tell everyone about it and make the old and the poor so ashamed.