Raul Dancel

The Straits Times

Publication Date : 03-07-2014

The Philippines has barred two maid agencies in Singapore from recruiting Filipinos after they were linked to marketing schemes that purportedly treated maids as commodities at shopping malls in Singapore.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, labour secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the Philippine embassy in Singapore has suspended the accreditation of Homekeeper Agency, which calls itself the industry and market leader on its website.

Another firm, Budget Maid Agency, has been referred to Singapores Ministry of Manpower, as it has been recruiting Filipinos without accreditation from the Philippine Overseas Labour Office, said Baldoz.

She also announced that the labour department is looking into four licensed recruitment agencies in the Philippines that have been providing applicants to Homekeeper.

The Al Jazeera news organisation reported last Friday that some maid agencies were displaying maids from the Philippines, Indonesia and Myanmar at shopping malls in Singapore.

The report mentioned two malls Bukit Timah Shopping Centre and Katong Shopping Centre that it said had rooms and galleries where dozens of women sit beneath garish signs and posters testifying to their friendliness and industriousness and offering their services at super promo rates and special discounts.

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Philippines bars two Singapore maid agencies from recruiting Filipinos

Dallas, TX (PRWEB) July 01, 2014

Owning your own home is a wonderful experience but it can also be stressful and time-consuming. Whether youre a senior who doesnt want to worry about home improvements or a busy adult without the time to finish the To Do house repair list, theres a new Dallas company that can help, TruBlue Total House Care.

TruBlue of Highland Park, which is locally owned and operated by Steve Neal, specializes in providing complete house care, including maid services, home improvement, repair services, lawn care and more. TruBlue also works with real estate professionals, general contractors and property managers to maintain homes and rental properties, improve curb appeal, make final preparations to sell homes and more. All TruBlue franchises are fully insured and bonded and all employees are background checked and certified. TruBlue of Highland Park serves the Park Cities area, North Dallas and East Dallas.

TruBlue of Highland Park serves the Park Cities area, North Dallas and East Dallas.

Before opening TruBlue Highland Park, Dr. Neal was an educator. Hes a retired teacher, college professor, librarian and, most recently heading a library system. He also served in the US Air Force during the Vietnam era.

A few years ago, I met someone in the cleaning business who told me hed be happy if he could just clean bathrooms all day. Thats what got me thinking. No one wants to clean the bathroom, but its one of those rooms that needs cleaned the most. That got the wheels turning, and when I saw TruBlues service plan I knew TruBlue is a company that can handle that task plus others that people dont want to deal with or arent able to take care of, Steve said.

When I was a librarian, I taught business research and worked with business owners pretty often. They really seemed to love their work and had a great time. When I found myself looking for a new career after my retirement, I knew I wanted to open my own business, and TruBlue was a great fit, he added.

TruBlue can work with anyone with homes of any size, but Steve is especially looking forward to working with seniors and building friendships with his business.

Im looking forward to serving the seniors. My mother had some problems when she got older and she couldnt take care of her home. The same thing happened with my grandmother and my great-grandmother. There is a real need for this kind of home service with seniors and I know we can make aging in place easier through TruBlues service, Steve said.

Steve is excited about bringing on quality team members people who can do the job and are people of character. Hes also hoping hell be able to bring his daughter and son-in-law into the business when his son-in-law leaves the Navy in two years.

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Steve Neal Brings Total Home Care Services to Dallas with TruBlue

The 24-year-old is being probed by UK immigration officials after claims that her American house keeper was allegedly working here illegally between September 2013 and February 2014.

The Daily Mail has reported that Watsons maid only held a tourist visa and did not have the correct documentation to work here legally for the length of time that she had been.

The investigation comes after the maid was stopped by UK border controls - on a flight from New York to London - who asked how she was funding such trips and how she intends to pay during her stay.

Watson employed the maid while living in New York, but found that her services were more effective than the wizarding worlds scouring charm, and she flew her to the UK on multiple occasions to clean her London abode.

If immigration officials find that the maid was working illegally, then the Perks of Being a Wallflower actress could face fines of up to 10,000.

Read more from the original source:
Emma Watson in immigration fiasco

Alpharetta, GA (PRWEB) June 30, 2014

Jim and Susan Gillespie, owners of Maid Right North Fulton, East Cobb, and Cumming, recently celebrated their Maid Right grand opening with Roswell Inc. and the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce. This unique home cleaning franchise continues to generate buzz as they expand their franchisee team and develop partnerships with local organizations.

We are currently building our residential cleaning business and need dependable owners who will personally manage a set of homes each week, explains Jim. Maid Right Unit franchise owners are often husband and wife cleaning crews who invest in and build a business of their own. As fully bonded, insured, and trained home cleaning professionals, owners will customize a cleaning solution for the customers home using hospital grade cleaning products.

In addition to expanding their franchisee team, the Gillespies are active participants at The Chambers weekly events and the Womens Business Luncheons. They are also developing a partnership with the Refugee Womens Networks Micro-Enterprise Development Program, which aids refugee and immigrant women to establish jobs and build their own businesses.

Providing work for others is a key reason why Susan and I invested in Maid Right, says Jim. We are very involved in our church, and the ability to lift someone up to a place they couldnt get to by themselves is pretty incredible.

Their current Maid Right business includes two Mexican-American couples and a woman that has been with them since the start of the business. One of the couples bought their franchise with much of their life savings all in cash bills. In just the first month, their initial investment began to show signs of a healthy return.

Maid Right of North Fulton serves homes in the Cumming, Roswell, Alpharetta, and Canton areas. Jim and Susans current special is $100 off the first three cleans: $50 off the initial clean, then $25 off the following two consecutive cleans. Customers can simply call and mention the special and the Gillespies will honor it.

The team at Maid Right North Fulton, East Cobb, and Cumming can be best reached at (770) 442-6243, on their website, and on Facebook.

About Maid Right: Maid Right Franchising, LLC is a professional-grade home cleaning subsidiary of Premium Franchise Brands LLC. It was founded in April 2013 and has established 17 franchises, with two in Canada. Maid Rights owner-operator business model, branded processes, and advanced cleaning services are adopted from their sister company JAN-PRO, a leading international commercial cleaning company. For more information, please contact:

Pam Evans, Premium Franchise Brands Office: 678-336-1788 Mobile: 678-361-6512

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Maid Right North Fulton Celebrates Grand Opening

Maid has already worked last year at Watson's New York home Woman allegedly made trips to London and paid to help out at stars house in Islington From September 2013 and February 2014, she is said to have spent a total of three months in the UK

By Sam Greenhill & Jack Doyle

Published: 20:00 EST, 29 June 2014 | Updated: 07:32 EST, 30 June 2014

They could call it Harry Potter and the Mystery of the American Housekeeper.

The Home Office is probing whether actress Emma Watsons maid has been working illegally at the stars 2m north London home.

Officials are looking into claims that the housekeeper only had a tourist visa, which would bar her as a foreigner from working here.

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Emma Watson: The Home Office is probing whether actress Watson's maid has been working illegally at the star's 2m north London home

The woman was stopped by UK immigration staff who questioned how she could pay for her stay here, it was claimed.

Employers who breach the rules by hiring foreign staff illegally can face a fine of up to 10,000.

Link:
Emma Watson faces probe over maid 'working illegally in Britain'

Alpharetta, Georgia (PRWEB) June 26, 2014

Maid Right, a national residential cleaning franchise, announced today the launch of Maid Right Latino, a Spanish-English bilingual website designed to connect Maid Right Master Franchise Owners with those in the Latino community who wish to own their own home cleaning business.

Seeing that the Hispanic community is one of the fast growing demographics in the U.S., Maid Right is striving to reach entrepreneurs and the surrounding community through the right channels of communication, explains Danessa Itaya, Vice President of Maid Right Franchising, LLC.

For its initial phase, Maid Right Latino websites focus is in attracting Franchise Unit Operators for the following three areas of operation:

Rich Kissane, the CEO of Premium Franchise Brands (parent company for Maid Right), explains the structure of the Maid Right business. We provide an owner-operator business model that helps people build their own business with an initial investment as little as $1600, Kissane says. Combined with the organizations thorough training, the owner-operator model has continued to prove successful for over 20 years for JAN-PRO, Maid Rights commercial cleaning sister company and a global leader in their category.

Maid Right is partnering with Hispanic Franchise Online and Hispanic Market Advisors to expand this program and share their business opportunity with more Hispanic communities around the U.S. Franchise Kits are available to those interested in learning more about this business opportunity. For further information, please contact 1-855-624-3744 to learn more about the Maid Right franchise opportunity.

About Maid Right: Maid Right Franchising, LLC is a professional-grade home cleaning subsidiary of Premium Franchise Brands LLC. It was founded in April 2013 and has established 17 franchises, with two in Canada. Maid Rights owner-operator business model, branded processes, and advanced cleaning services are adopted from their sister company JAN-PRO, a leading international commercial cleaning company. For more information, please contact:

Pam Evans, Premium Franchise Brands Office: 678-336-1788 Mobile: 678-361-6512

Danessa Itaya, Vice President of Maid Right Office: 678-336-1823

About Hispanic Market Advisors Hispanic Market Advisors is a boutique digital marketing agency focused on developing online Hispanic market-ready solutions, including English to Spanish translations and Latino SEO services, to aid companies of all sizes to reap the growth of the Latin American and US Hispanic markets. Visit http://www.hispanicmarketadvisors.com for more information.

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Maid Right Franchising Launches Bilingual Website to Expand Reach

by Agence France-Presse Posted on 06/18/2014 2:53 PM |Updated 06/18/2014 3:32 PM

OUTRAGE. Netizens are angry over this commercial by Hong Leong bank for domestic helper insurance. The ad depicts a Filipina maid with orange skin named 'Maria'. Screenshot from YouTube

HONG KONG A "racist" insurance commercial depicting a male Chinese actor as a Filipina maid has drawn outrage on social media in Hong Kong, with groups representing the city's legions of domestic helpers calling for an apology.

Aimed at the employers of Hong Kong's 300,000 maids, who mainly hail from the Philippines and Indonesia, the domestic helper insurance advertisement for Malaysia's Hong Leong Bank shows the Chinese actor wearing dark orange make-up and a curly wig as he plays clumsy maid "Maria." (READ: Tortured maid, migrant workers and Hong Kong)

Hong Leong did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but the bank appeared to have removed the link to the advertisement from its website on Wednesday.

"I think they should make a public apology," Eni Lestari, spokeswoman for the Asian Migrants' Coordinating Body, told Agence France-Presse, describing the ad as "very racist". "You are making comedy out of someone, out of a community," she said. "For (Hong Kong residents) it's funny, but what they don't realise is what's funny is actually racist."

She questioned why the bank did not hire someone from Indonesia or the Philippines to play the maid.

Others took to Twitter and Facebook to blast the ad.

"You guys should really take down that ad and apologize for it... It's really not appropriate for a professional representation of your financial services," Kahlil Stultz wrote on the bank's Facebook page.

"Why do you have to solidify the omnipresent racial and cultural stereotypes that are hurting so many people?" added Marcin Rutecki.

Link:
Netizens outraged at 'racist' ad depicting Filipina maid

Cincinnati, OH (PRWEB) June 17, 2014

TruBlue Total House Care has expanded to include a new leader at the helm. The company has brought on Mark Cottle as TruBlues Chief Operating Officer.

TruBlue specializes in providing complete house care, including maid services, home improvement, repair services, lawn care and more. TruBlue also works with real estate professionals, general contractors and property managers to maintain homes and rental properties, improve curb appeal, make final preparations to sell homes and more.

Im excited to be part of the TruBlue team. The services this company provides really serve a huge cross section of the population and the concept is very strong. I bounced the services around with a few people while I was considering the opportunity and they all wanted to know how to get involved, Cottle said.

Prior to joining the TruBlue team, Cottle was the director of franchise operations for N-Hance Wood Renewal for close to six years. Before that, he worked with Devere International and Harris Research. In his most recent role, Cottle was responsible for leading the team that grew the brand to more than 320 independently owned franchises, built franchise network partnerships with companies like Home Depot, collaborated in the development of a suite of tools for franchisors and more. Cottle is relocating to Cincinnati with his wife Natalie and their three children.

TruBlue is part of the Strategic Franchising Systems family, which also includes Home Helpers, Direct Link, Fresh Coat Painters, Caring Transitions and The Growth Coach. TruBlue launched in 2011 and is the companys youngest franchise.

With TruBlue, Im coming in at the ground level to build the brand from the ground up. We have a few franchise owners around the country and this is our chance to create a solid foundation for future growth. Im hoping my experience can help us add some best practices to the TruBlue system and create a heightened level of business intelligence to the brand growth process, Cottle said.

Im looking to come in and work with the team to create a solid, turn-key operation thats profitable and easy for the franchisees to operate while providing a needed service for seniors and busy adults, he added.

Strategic Franchising Systems Executive Vice President Bernie Brozek is excited to have Cottle on the team of the budding brand.

I worked with Mark when I was COO of N-Hance and was lucky to bring such a talented young man to Strategic Franchising, he said. Mark brings the enthusiasm and background necessary to take this brand to the next level. He was the perfect choice to continue to make this brand profitable and stimulate a growth mode for the future.

Read the rest here:
Mark Cottle to Lead TruBlue Franchise

Hong Leong Insurance's ad was deemed as a "racist" for using a male Chinese actor to play a Pinay maid.

HONG KONG - A "racist" insurance commercial depicting a male Chinese actor as a Filipina maid has drawn outrage on social media in Hong Kong, with groups representing the city's legions of domestic helpers calling for an apology.

Aimed at the employers of Hong Kong's 300,000 maids, who mainly hail from the Philippines and Indonesia, the domestic helper insurance advert for Malaysia's Hong Leong Bank shows the Chinese actor wearing dark orange make-up and a curly wig as he plays clumsy maid "Maria".

Hong Leong did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but the bank appeared to have removed the link to the advertisement from its website on Wednesday.

"I think they should make a public apology," Eni Lestari, spokeswoman for the Asian Migrants' Coordinating Body, told AFP, describing the ad as "very racist".

"You are making comedy out of someone, out of a community," she said. "For (Hong Kong residents) it's funny, but what they don't realize is what's funny is actually racist."

She questioned why the bank did not hire someone from Indonesia or the Philippines to play the maid.

Others took to Twitter and Facebook to blast the advert.

"You guys should really take down that ad and apologize for it... It's really not appropriate for a professional representation of your financial services," Kahlil Stultz wrote on the bank's Facebook page.

"Why do you have to solidify the omnipresent racial and cultural stereotypes that are hurting so many people?" added Marcin Rutecki.

More here:
'Racist' ad shows Chinese actor as Pinay maid in HK

Best House Cleaning company in Boston - THE FABULOUS MAID
The Fabulous Maid is a professional certified cleaning company that offers residential and commercial services, such as housekeeping, maid services, janitorial, regular cleaning, deep cleaning,...

By: TheFabulous Maid

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Best House Cleaning company in Boston - THE FABULOUS MAID - Video