A lesson from HK maid ruling

A lesson from HK maid ruling
Letter from Liew Kai Khiun 04:46 AM Oct 06, 2011
The recent ruling by a Hong Kong court on the right of foreign domestic workers (FDWs) to apply for permanent residency is a legal landmark for a city that already has policies on minimum wages, rest days and the right to unionisation for its estimated 250,000 maids.
In many respects, this recognition also represents a new standard for the improvement of basic rights as well as the working conditions of FDWs in East Asia.
In Hong Kong, the regulation of the employment of FDWs is comparatively stringent. In addition, a distinction is made between caregiver duties for people with disabilities and domestic work, to prevent FDWs from being exploited and overworked.
Hence, not only do these policies help to improve general standards of basic labour rights, in Hong Kong as well as Taiwan, they reflect a more qualified approach to the reliance on foreign labour by distinguishing between genuine needs and convenient wants.
Not only are these employment policies absent in Singapore, FDWs here are also burdened with disproportionately high levies, paid by their employers, that could have been a part of their wages.
An exploitative mindset has eaten into the moral foundation and spirit of Singapore, where calls for a day off each week for maids - a basic human right - are met with tremendous resistance from people.
If we do not offer our FDWs the basic respect and recognition they deserve, we will lose them to more attractive employers in East Asia, and only then, perhaps, will we realise how valuable their contributions are. 
By then, it may be too late as more countries race past Singapore to attract the people we have been taking for granted.
http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC111006-0000059/A-lesson-from-HK-maid-ruling
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06Oct2011: A lesson from HK maid ruling