Man Accuses Private Club Of Discrimination For Their 'No Maids Allowed' Policy
They were told that their helper, Mary, would have to wait in the car park instead.
By Katrina Khairul Azman — 28 Nov 2018, 06:46 PM
Singaporean actor Nicholas Bloodworth recently took to Facebook to share an upsetting experience with the exclusive Singapore Cricket Club
In the post, Bloodworth explained that he was with his family and their domestic helper at the club to watch his nephew play rugby when they decided to have dinner at one of its restaurants, The Victoria Room.
Being a part of the 166-year-old private club established by the colonial British, they were aware that the restaurant was "fancy."
However, they did not expect a staff member to forbid their domestic helper Mary from entering the restaurant because of a "no maids allowed" policy
In fact, the family was told that the policy applies to the entire premises of the club, and that Mary would have to wait in the car park instead.
When Bloodworth's sister-in-law asked the staff member how he knew the woman was their domestic helper rather than a relative, he replied, "I will know."
"Good, old-timey discrimination," Bloodworth wrote.
They were even told that nothing could be done when Bloodworth's father, a member of the club, requested to sign Mary in as a guest
A supposed perk of a club membership is the ability to invite guests to use the facilities, with no quota on the number of guests invited.
Furious, Bloodworth was determined to find a different restaurant, but the needs of his ageing father and his brother's children took priority. The family quickly ate their dinner at The Victoria Room and packed food for Mary, who took the incident in stride and brought Nicholas' niece for a walk.
"It was not fair for Mary, who works hard and makes sacrifices like everyone else, to be deprived of having dinner with the family," Bloodworth wrote
He explained in his post that it was not his place to advise people who chose to be members of a club "that has questionable, archaic practices."
"As long as no one gets hurt and the rules are fair, your time and money are yours to spend as you see fit," he said.
Bloodworth criticised the club for not being "open and crystal clear" about the policy, as it is not explicitly stated on its website that domestic helpers are prohibited from entering the grounds
However, the club's by-laws revealed a clause which states: "No domestic help providers or chauffeurs may be brought into the Club premises or use any of the facilities provided in the Club."
In response to this, Bloodworth told The Straits Times that such information should then be provided on the website. "Who's going to read by-laws? Are they afraid of backlash? Because this is it, the backlash is coming now."