Ayi

Getting help for household chores in Shanghai used to be one of the perks of living here. I mean, given that the RMB USED to be 5:1 and yes, its slowly been appreciating and so not as cheap as it used to be...But I think the ayi market has been further eroded by many lao wai (expatriates) who have been really overpaying the ayis, leading to a sharp increase in the rates of domestic help here.

Many of them pay RMB 1,500 to 2,700 per month for a Chinese ayi who works say 40 hours a week. In SGD terms, that's easily SG$300 to nearly SG$500...for 40 to 60 hours a week ! It used to be that we could get an ayi for RMB8-10 per hour, now my ayi who has been working with us for nearly 4 years is asking for RMb22 per hour, telling me that "there are a lot of expat families around and not enough ayis like me".

It was all I could do to hold my tongue and say "ya right, 1.3 billion and I can't find someone to clean the house?"

Seriously....

To top it off, some lao wais are actually asking if they should buy birthday presents, give Christmas AND CNY bonuses and a raise during CNY. faint. I think maybe cheaper for me to do housework if the rates continue to climb.