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ay-Ann, who is in her mid-30s and has two children, left her hometown in the Philippines early this year to become a domestic worker in Singapore.

A few months into her contract, she was ready to throw in the towel and go home to her family whom she sorely missed. After paying her recruitment fees, she was left with just S$20 (US$15.60) in earnings each month. This was to continue for the next six months or so until her fees were fully paid.

How would she explain this to her family, who was expecting financial support from her? That question had been weighing on her mind since she’d arrived in Singapore but she could not think of any way to resolve the problem.

According to the International Labor Organization, the salaries of 95 percent or more of domestic workers in Asia fall below the minimum wage.

The fact that domestic workers make up the largest group of salaried female workers worldwide, who are excluded from national labor legislation, makes this an even more glaring issue.

Singapore has a lot to be proud of. Its rags-to-riches story has inspired many cities the world over. Emulating its success model are leaders of countries in both the global north and south.

This highly urbanized city-state in Southeast Asia, smaller than New York City, has truly punched above its weight in terms of economic globalization, regional trade and integration, national security and so on. However, Singapore continues to lag behind when it comes to the protection of migrant labor.

A striking feature of domestic work is its isolation within the confines of households that do not have the status of regular work places. As a result, the service goes unrecognized under Singapore labor laws.

Domestic workers are denied the basic rights of labor protection that other workers have. For example, employers are not legally required to give workers rest days, or pay them a minimum wage.

The Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics, an NGO committed to the protection of migrant workers in Singapore, describes domestic workers as being the “poorest of poor workers” in terms of salaries, legal protection, occupational mobility and other employment conditions.

Some domestic workers earn as little as S$200 to S$250 a month, and in the first six to seven months of work, a heavy percentage, if not all of their salary goes into paying recruitment fees to the agency, leaving little to be sent home as a remittance.

As income levels rise and more women enter the workforce in Singapore, there is an ever-increasing demand for domestic help.

While Singaporeans are reluctant to take up such work because of the meager wages, a steady supply of immigrant female care workers from less developed countries in Asia is available and willing to fill this need. In search of better wages and living conditions, the majority of them come from the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

With over 200,000 domestic workers employed and one in every six households, Singapore is one of the world’s top employers of maids. Hence, the role of domestic workers is crucial to the professional lives and careers of women in Singapore, who depend on them to care for the household and would otherwise have to quit their jobs in the event that such help became unavailable.

Over 90 percent of countries have implemented some form of minimum wage legislation. In the last decade, more countries in the Asia-Pacific region have also introduced such measures, including Indonesia, Mongolia, Vietnam, China and Cambodia.

Although the merits of a minimum wage policy are still being debated among economists and policymakers, the basic premise is that it will help boost the purchasing power of low-income groups, effectively contributing to the expansion of the domestic economy.

Hong Kong saw its first minimum wage ordinance take effect on May 1, 2011. While critics argue that the minimum wage of HK$28 (US$3.6) per hour is too low to sustain low-income groups, this could at least open up a public debate that will possibly lead to a better outcome on the wage policy.

As more domestic workers like May-Ann leave for better job prospects elsewhere, Singapore might have to grapple with a shrinking domestic labor force. Perhaps it is time the city gave some serious thought to setting a minimum wage if it wants to attract and retain migrant workers who contribute to the growth of its economy.  

The writer is a research associate at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore.