I was nonplussed by the announcement that the Ministry of Manpower will increase the number of foreign domestic workers (FDWs) entering the country from 200 a week to 1,000 a week (Three 'brakes' to slow down infection rate, curb transmission: Minister, Oct 24).

This is apparently to relieve the stress on Singaporean households due to the pandemic.

Singapore has long had a reputation of being a nation that is overly dependent on FDWs. While many employers have fostered positive relationships with their domestic workers, the mindset of treating FDWs as a household necessity has also led to horrific physical, psychological and sexual abuse, children and adults who are domestically incompetent, and subtle racism, to name a few social ills.

We seemed to be taking a step in the right direction of professionalising domestic help by promoting part-time cleaning services, but now this move to drastically increase the inflow of FDWs from neighbouring countries seems to be a step backwards.

Shouldn't the Covid-19 pandemic be a catalyst for Singapore to find better ways of coping with domestic "stress" instead of falling back into a problematic dependency on cheap foreign labour?

Boey Shee Lye