Treat domestic workers like you would a family member

Our readers have their say on the ethical way to treat domestic workers, social media regulations and industry in India

An Ethiopian domestic worker cries as she waits with dozens of others outside the Ethiopian consulate, some inquiring about flights home, others stranded after they were abandoned by employers who claimed they could no longer afford to pay their salaries, in Hazmieh, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, June 4, 2020. Some 180,000 domestic workers in Lebanon, most of them female from Ethiopia, are growing more desperate as a crippling economic and financial crisis sets in, coupled with coronavirus restrictions. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Dozens of Ethiopian domestic workers in Lebanon were stranded outside their embassy, some enquiring about flights home, others abandoned by employers who claimed they could no longer afford to pay their salaries. AP

In reference to Sunniva Rose's report Ethiopian domestic workers abandoned on Beirut street by employers (June 6): it made me cry that people can behave like this.

Alissa Abaskanova, Dubai

If employers treated their help the way they treat their family members they might not treat them like this.

Mar Yam, Dubai

We should at least allow our domestic helps to continue to stay at our homes where they can eat and sleep. Lack of money should not be a reason to kick them out. I am sure that they understand the situation where you cannot pay their salaries and they do not mind staying with the family without pay unless they want to voluntarily leave.

Obaidallah Elhassan, Abu Dhabi

The social media playbook may be in for some tweaks

In reference to Ashleigh Stewart's piece Mark Zuckerberg promises review of Facebook policies after backlash over Trump posts (June 6): I hope social media gets regulated.

Michael Byrd, Dubai

I hope Americans get to keep their right to free speech.

Leanne Hogins, Ruwais, Abu Dhabi

A labour shortage will affect industry in India

With reference to Kunal Purohit's op-ed India's migrant labour crisis is a chance to fix an old wrong (June 6). Cities like Mumbai and Delhi have started permitting industries to commence manufacturing. However, in Mumbai, even car garages are unable to attend to repairs for their migrant staff have returned to their home states.

States depend on migrant labour from other states and will suffer as their factories and industrial establishments will remain shut. Cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, etc attract workers from across various states in India, where industrial development has been slower.

The local labourers which earlier went to work in large cities outside their own state, are finding it possible to secure employment in their own states.

If a local worker can earn Rs8,000 ($107) per month in a factory in Jharkhand, he will opt to stay in his own home state. Even if he earns Rs12,500 ($167), per month in Delhi, he would prefer to stay put in Jharkhand. In Delhi, he would have to spend Rs6,000 for a room and food, on a shared basis. So, he would be left with just Rs6,500 per month ($87), which is less than what he would earn at home, where his accommodation would be free and he could be close to his family, relatives and friends.

The migrant workers of India were treated very shabbily, when the lockdown was declared on March 24. They walked 200-1,200 kms without food, shelter or transport to reach their homes. Many died on these desperate journeys to reach their villages. They are not going to forget this. Many might not return to cities easily.

Rajendra Aneja, Dubai