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I think the issue here is not wages per se. I really don't think you can equate what people make in minimum wage in the west vs. what they make in places like Dubai, Laos, Cambodia, etc.
I think the real issue is working conditions (hours works, child labour, health care, etc.) and living conditions for those that are migrant workers. I know that there are very stringent laws here to deal with these sorts of issues. I still read stories in the paper of workers being promised one thing and getting another (bait and switch) or being abused by their unscrupulous employers. The law here does not treat employers who abuse their employees (physically, emotionally, financially, etc.) kindly. Jail time and the cane were meted out on a woman who had been beating her domestic live-in helper.
You are correct that Westerners do benefit from the lower wages of "local labourers, domestics and dishwashers" but you are not seeing the whole picture. It is not just locals that are being paid lower wages, but imported labour as well. It is also not just Westerners, but locals that benefit from these unskilled positions being filled by people who accept lower wages.
The office I work in is a locally owned and operated organization. The management team has a few western faces on it. We were hired for our expertise which was not to be had in the local market. I can tell you that the other managers at my level are being paid the same as I am, some more.
Again, now on my fourth year of living here, I don't think it is as cut and dry a picture as you paint it.
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"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke
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