Page 85 - Chinese Woman Living and Working

72 WANNING SUN
in spite of the ‘equal’ and ‘modern’ flavour associated with ‘domestic worker’, it seems
that the term ‘baomu’, more than anything else, is most capable of capturing the
imagination of the public and the media. While baomu remains popular as a way of
describing the group of people whose job it is to provide domestic help of various kinds,
in most cities, they are also referred to as ayi (literally, aunty), or xiao ayi (young aunty).
Around 90 per cent of maids who went to Beijing in the 1980s were employed to look
after children, many of whom lived in the house of the employers. In contrast, the current
employment pattern in Beijing shows that around 60 per cent of the baomu look after
children, 25 per cent are carers of the elderly and the sick, and about 15 per cent do other
kinds of domestic chores (Liu 1998). The exact nature of the maid’s work, of course,
depends on the individual circumstances of the household, and is negotiable between the
maid and her employers. Another change in the baomu’s employment pattern is that, while
it was customary for baomu to live in, with food and lodging provided by her employers,
some maids nowadays work for their employers during the day but do not, or prefer not
to, sleep over. This is particularly the case if the baomu’s family is also in the city. This
pattern is common in other major cities such as Shanghai and Guangzhou. Increasingly,
this seems to be an arrangement favoured by both the baomu and their employers, since it
allows privacy and convenience for both parties.
6
Chen Caiyun, a 46-year-old woman from Wuwei, works for Ms Zhu, a Shanghai
woman and her Taiwanese businessman husband in their home in Putuo District in
Shanghai. Chen and her husband came to Shanghai three years ago. Their son and
daughter have grown up and now work as a waiter and kitchen hand, respectively, in
Shanghai. Chen had worked as live-in baomu in Beijing before, but had decided to go to
Shanghai because it was ‘closer’ to home, although she also said that she had not returned
to her home village for three years. Chen, her husband and two children live in a rented
flat in Shanghai’s Putuo District, paying a rent of around 300 yuan a month, plus around
60 yuan for electricity and water bills. She complained about how expensive
accommodation was in Shanghai, as most of her current income would go to the payment
of the rent; however, she conceded that this arrangement gave her more personal
freedom, and allowed her to live with her own family.
It is difficult to be exact about a maid’s wage, since it depends on many variables that
are hard to quantify Some employers, for instance, may set the wage low but complement
regular pay with either material reward or a bonus. In addition, the baomu’s payment
changes from time to time to reflect the level of income of the urban residents. In 1983,
for instance, a live-in maid in Beijing could expect to be paid around 20 yuan a month, 7
plus food and accommodation. Throughout the 1980s, a live-in maid expected around 45
yuan a month. In 1994, a live-in maid’s monthly wage rose to around 100 yuan in 1994,
and by 1995, the Ministry of Labour and Domestic Service Centre recommended an
official wage of 150 a month for baby-sitters, with a monthly increase of 10 yuan till it
reached the maximum of 260 yuan. Carers for the sick and elderly may start with 220
yuan, since their work was perceived to be more difficult. These are the official guidelines
and are usually lower than the actual amount paid to the maid. In practice, a baby-sitter
usually gets around 300 to 500 yuan a month. Chen Caiyun, as mentioned before, had
worked as a day-time maid for her current employer five to six days a week, mainly