Higher wages for UAE’s Lankan maids

UAE: The minimum wage for Sri Lankan housemaids in the UAE will be increased from Dh 550 to Dh 600, said the Sri Lankan Ambassador.

Mohammad Nabavi Junaid said the decision was taken recently by the Sri Lankan Foreign Employment Bureau (FEB) under the Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare in consultation with the embassy in Abu Dhabi.

The decision will take effect on September 1 and apply to new recruits, Junaid told Gulf News. The FEB will strictly monitor the recruitment of housemaids and job contracts have to be approved by the bureau.

“This has been done after taking into consideration the increase in the cost of living in the UAE. The minimum wage has to be gradually increased. The prevailing rate of Dh550 was fixed one-and-a-half years ago”.

He said the embassy has no plans on new mechanisms to address complaints from housemaids as embassy officials are always ready to listen to the grievances anytime.

A senior embassy official said the minimum wage was not increased more because of competition in the job market. “Sri Lankan housemaids are facing tough competition from job seekers from African countries and Indonesia.

Since many Sri Lankan housemaids want to work in the UAE, we cannot hamper their prospects by fixing a higher minimum wage,” said Madurika Weninger, Head of Chancery at the Sri Lankan Embassy.

She said the embassy will inform authorised recruitment agencies about the decision which they have to adhere to strictly. K.B, a housemaid who has been working in Abu Dhabi for three years said she gets Dh 1,000.