Illegal part-time maids on rise in Ras Al Khaimah

Ras Al Khaimah: Many women employed as full-time cleaners are illegally hiring themselves out as part-time maids as they claim it is the only way they can make ends meet.

The women, who are often employed by public hospitals and schools, say they earn around Dh800 a month and working part-time is the only way for them to manage.

They are available for a minimum of Dh25 an hour - and many of these maids are finding themselves hard pushed to keep up with demand.

Key motive

Patricia, a Sri Lankan who is employed as a cleaner at a public hospital, said her revenue from this part-time work was her key motive for staying in the country.

She added that her salary fell way short of meeting her monthly expenses and that she had been in need of an additional income.

She added that this part-time work had contributed greatly to her doing well in the emirate.

She stressed that the maid usually reviews the conditions of the family she works for, and that the right family was key for her to go on with her private business problem-free.

One Jordanian housewife living in Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Alaa, said hiring a maid for a few hours a week was a real comfort to her.

She added that she cleans her house once a week with the help of a maid, whom she calls to fix an appointment. She said that the maid spends two to three hours and charges between Dh50 to Dh75.

She said that she benefits from this arrangement as she does not have to sponsor a maid and pay sponsorship fees. She said that families here usually hire maids through word of mouth to ensure they are trustworthy.

She added that this was an easy and helpful service for families, provided that the housewives stayed at home to monitor the performance of the maid.

In many cases, a maid works for one family part-time, she may come to their house for two to three hours a day and get an average of Dh1,000 a month. In other cases a maid may work for two families to make more than Dh2,000 monthly, depending on her work.

A senior police officer said that the emirate's authorities were aware of this issue but that it was difficult to control as it took place in people's homes.

Problems

He said the authorities were due to study this issue and come up with suggestions to end this illegal status to spare families and maids possible problems which could occur at any moment.