Due to unfair competition among intermediaries, housemaids in Dubai — the commercial hub of the UAE — have been earning less than the prescribed minimum wage. Nepali housemaids in the destination are earning about UAE Dirham 700 (Rs 18,000).

The earning is about Dh 200 (Rs 5,200) less than the minimum wage set by the Nepali government and Dh 800 (Rs 20,700) less than the ‘market rate’. The market rate for Dubai-based housemaids is around Dh 1,500 (Rs 38,800), local media The Arab Times reported.

According to the media, well-trained housemaids working in New Dubai areas have been earning up to Dh 2,000 (Rs 51,700). However, housemaids from countries like Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have been earning below Dh 1,000 (Rs 25,850). It is because of unfair competition among middlemen, it said.

Housemaids from more than a dozen countries enter Dubai and their salary is based on the prescribed salary from the origin countries. However, most Nepali maids have entered the job market through illegal agents, so their salary is fixed by middlemen.

About 16,722 Nepali women have reached the destination through formal channels but the number is half of the actual number of Nepali housemaids there. About 40,000 Nepali women are believed to be working in the UAE.

According to the local newspaper The National, Nepali girls are sold as housemaids for between Dh 7,000 (Rs 181,000) and Dh 9,000 (Rs 233,000), with them receiving a monthly wage of just Dh 500 (Rs 13,000) to Dh 800 (Rs 20,700). The nexus of human traffickers is engaged in the deal. Every day, about 30 to 40 Nepali women below 30 years reach the Gulf countries through illegal agents based in Nepal and India.

People in Dubai have been hiring Nepali girls as housemaids through clandestine agents to avoid legal formalities set by the government. Nepali women lured by agents have faced cases of attempts to rape, sexual harassment, torture and non-payment of wages. The Nepali Embassy in the job destination rescued about 100 girls in 2012.

The Nepali government has set a minimum wage, age limit, and cash deposit and police clearance from employers as criteria to hire Nepali housemaids in the UAE. The deposit is about Dh 5,000 (Rs 130,000).

Published on: 22 July 2013 | The Himalayan Times