THIS is apropos the news item “Ban on entry of maids to elite clubs lifted’ (Jan 31). Of what good, and in what way does the lifting of the ban on the entry of maids and ayahs to elite clubs, help this downtrodden class?

A more positive and fruitful exercise would have been to conduct a survey to ascertain if the monthly wages being paid to the domestic aide are in line with the minimum wage policy of the government, and if their living conditions are suitable.

Furthermore, there is no information regarding how many of these maids and ayahs employed as domestic aides by people are underage and school dropouts. Arrangements could be made so that these underprivileged children can be sent back to school.

Why not have the domestic servants registered with theWorkers Welfare Fund or Employees Old-Age Benefit? Industrial workers and institutional employees get benefits from these organisations so why not extend this facility to individual workers as well? The employers should be responsible for the monthly contributions on behalf of their employees. This will go a long way in providing relief to the most neglected segment of our society.

Muhammad K. Sufi

Islamabad

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2019