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Car washer

Car washers cleaned the cars of wealthy Singaporeans. The were usually Indian and were commonly found throughout the island.

History
As the number of car owners increased, immigrant workers began to see cleaning cars as a viable business. The car washer was thus born. Car washers were almost always immigrants from Southern India. They usually lived alone leaving their families back in India. They were either citizens or permanent residents. They were found in housing estates, private estates, market places and sometimes at office complexes. They were however, not found at exclusive residences where the cars were chauffeur driven. Every car washer had his own area in which he operated. Car washers had an understanding between themselves to respect each others' territorial rights. When a new neighbourhood estate was built, the nearest car washer got the right to operate in it. When work got too much they employed an assistant. Car washers usually rode a bicycle with a pail strapped behind. They wore a pair of shorts, a T-shirt and rubber slippers.

Job Scope
Car washers worked on all days except Sundays and public holidays. They started work at 10:00 am in the morning and worked until 7:00 pm in the evening. Some of them took a nap in between, around 3:00 pm. It was not unusual for them to start work as early as 4:00 am at times. This was because car owners liked to have their cars cleaned before they drove them to work.

Car washers set to work with a pail of water, some detergent, a piece of cloth and a feather duster. They got water from the households of the car owners. In public housing estates the car washer would go to the nearest coffee shop to fill his pail with water. The coffee shop owners were usually paid a small fee for the water and because of this the car washers used the same pail of water for several cars. They usually cleaned the exterior of a car only. They washed over the whole car and specially scrubbed the tyres clean of their grime and dirt. Then they dried it with a cloth. They cleaned the interior of the car on request. They usually washed 30 cars a day. They were usually paid on a monthly basis and would earn around S$15-S$25 a month. Sometimes they waxed and polished a car for an extra charge. This they did for an extra S$20 or so depending on the size of the car. When it rained, they were relieved of their duties because the cars were usually parked in the open. But if there was a covered car park, they had to clean the car whether it rained or not. They earned about S$450 a month. From their earnings they would set aside money to visit their wife and families in India every two years.

Development
With the introduction of car washes in petrol stations, the car washer went out of business. Car washers are no longer around in present day Singapore.



Author
Naidu Ratnala Thulaja



References
Guess who keeps the car clean? (1980). Goodwood Journal, 1st Qtr., 19, 25.
(Call no.: RCLOS 052 GHCGJ) 

The information in this article is valid as at 2002 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Commerce and Industry>>Labour and Employment>>Vanishing Trades
Unskilled labor--Singapore
Manual work--Singapore
Business, finance and industry>>Economics>>Labour economics



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