I READ with interest Mary C. Y. Yuen's letter (South China Morning Post, July 23) in which she calls for maids' salaries to be determined by free market forces.

Unfortunately she contradicts herself by defending strict conditions of stay (the two-week rule) on the grounds that they prevent maids from job-hopping. Mobility of labour is one of the essential ingredients of a free market. Like many people Ms Yuen appears to be all in favour of a free market until that market acts against their own interests. If you want to live by the free market (and I for one don't) you have to be prepared to die by the market.

PAUL STABLES New Territories