The current situation is an Au Pair is included as part of the family. If you're now paying minimum wage, is the Au Pair now an employee who is treated as an employee or do they still get treated as a family member?
* Pay $739 weekly * Provide all food, plus cook for them * Provide their own room in the accommodation * Cover the costs of all their utilities (water, gas, electricity) * Take them on all holidays, etc
I know your suggestion means well but it would mean Au Pairs cease to exist. It's lose-lose. The Au Pairs here aren't coming for a poor nation to earn money from back home, they're coming over for cultural exchange. For example, my sisters Au Pair was from a wealthy German family. Maybe it's different in other countries, the article talks about Columbian Au Pairs.
If you cannot fathom how a human could host another human and you can only see transactions then I feel sorry for you.