Worker hails minimum wage

Dubai: The recent announcement of the Dh4,250 minimum wage for Emirati government workers in Dubai has been welcomed by one low-income earner working for Dubai Municipality.

However, for UAE national Hani Obaid Al Halyan the increase will not be enough to get his family out of their difficulties.

Al Halyan, along with his mother and grandmother, expressed disbelief and guarded happiness upon hearing the news about the new legislation, which is due to come into effect in May.

Al Halyan currently earns Dh3,000 working in maintenance for the Public Parks and Horticulture Department, and lives with his family in a small, one bedroom space tucked in the alleys of Abu Hail for Dh1,000 a month.

Estranged from his Emirati father, Al Halyan, 25, is the sole provider for his mother and grandmother, both Egyptian nationals, and says the new minimum wage will certainly ease some of his burdens.

However, he is keen to stress that his primary concern is the ailing health of his mother Thuraya and grandmother Zeina, as well as his own medical troubles.

"I would be very happy to receive some additional money. My salary is not huge, so getting by is very difficult, especially with the cost of living increasing," he told Gulf News.

However, speaking from his bed only hours after being discharged from hospital following surgery for hernia, Al Halyan said that the most important issue is his family's health.

According to medical records, Thuraya is developing cataracts, but the family's medical problems do not end there.

Appearing overwhelmed by his predicament, Al Halyan said that his mother also needs an urgent operation for severe arthritis in her knee, which has made walking difficult.

Al Halyan's grandmother's health also continues to deteriorate. She has a massive and obtrusive growth in her stomach and has been informed that an operation is urgently required.

Struggling to walk around their cramped home, Thuraya begins to cry. "I cannot go ahead with my operation because my son is the most important thing right now. Who will take care of my mother if I go for the operation? When my son is in such a bad state, or when he gets back to work, what will my mother do? I just want to be able to walk properly, but how will I look after my mother if I am in a wheelchair while I recover?"

While the landlord has informed the family that he no longer plans to demolish their building, as previously reported in Gulf News, their cramped living quarters remains in the same state. After a night of rain, the ceiling, still held together by masking tape, buckles with water, and the entire room is damp.

For now as he recovers from his surgery, Al Halyan says he is waiting to receive the salary increase.