If you ask the employer (or potential future employers) whether their workers should be given one rest day per week, they will most likely say "NO" - and give all kinds of reasons. If you ask employers, if their workers should be given paid public holidays...or paid annual leave...or paid maternity leave, they will, most likely say 'No'.

Hence, the Star's survey, an SMS poll at that, gave us the result that 75% are against the granting of a day off per week to domestic workers - and I bet you that most of them were employers/potential employers/family of employers of domestic workers. Also wonder, what was the question asked in that poll? And, in what language?

More than 75% of respondents in an SMS poll conducted by The Star are against the idea of granting maids a day off every week.

Yesterday’s poll, which asked if maids should be given one rest day a week, drew a total of 769 respondents over 11 hours.

It is against the law for employers to hold on to their worker's passports...

Now, the Minister of Human Resources has made it clear again that ...

Employers holding on to the passport of their foreign maids must surrender the travel document if and when the maids ask for it.

Human Resource Minister Datuk S. Subramaniam said employers did not have the right to refuse the request from the maids for any reason, especially when they wanted to quit or leave the country.

Ary Hermawan ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Mon, 06/15/2009 1:50 PM  |  World