Marriage Fund changes salary limit

The Marriage Fund has increased the salary limit of nationals seeking funds for their wedding expenses from Dh13,000 to Dh16,000, a senior official of the fund said yesterday.

The limit was increased during a meeting of the fund's board, chaired by Matar Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, and the fund's Chairman. Previously nationals whose incomes were above Dh13,000 a month, were denied the Dh70,000 grant from the fund for wedding expenses.

The decision has been taken due to the high living standard. Jamal Al Bah, Director General of the Marriage Fund said: "The board of directors has decided that all nationals whose salaries are Dh13,000 and below will immediately receive a total of Dh70,000."

Those earning from Dh13,000 to Dh16,000 will receive a grant of Dh60,000 to Dh70,000. "Their cases will be first studied. Their social and economic status will be looked into by a committee before granting them aid."

This new decision will apply to nationals who have applied for grants now and those who have already applied but have not received the money. Al Bah said this will increase the number of nationals receiving grants by six per cent, from around 600 to 700 nationals.

These decisions have been taken to help nationals work out their financial needs to have a trouble-free family life. The board of directors has also agreed on a project to develop a hotline to help nationals solve their marital problems.

The project, expected to be completed by October, will be implemented in coordination with Etisalat.

Al Bah said: "Counselors and specialists in this field will be made available by the fund to offer advice to nationals having problems with their marriage. Etisalat will offer the technicians and help set up the service since they have similar hotlines for different purposes."

No one would be able to contact the specialists directly to maintain the caller's privacy.

"Calls will be answered by an automated answering service which will direct callers through a number of options to specify the type of problem. Callers will then record their problem in a five to 10 minute message box that will automatically be directed to the concerned specialist."

The counselors or the specialist will give his advice or solution within an hour of the call.

This will also be recorded in a message box, sent directly to the caller's contact number. Extreme or complicated problems will be transferred to the marriage fund who may request a meeting with the caller to help solve the problem.

He said the hotline is very secure and the caller's problems will be immediately solved. On the other hand, a report submitted to the board of directors showed that the divorce rate among the marriage fund grant recipients does not exceed two per cent.