DOHA: Buckling under mounting pressure from Manila, Qatari manpower agencies have decided to raise the minimum wage of Filipina maids to $400 (QR1,460) from $250 (QR912.50) per month.
The move has irked many in the Qatari community, but a spokesman for the local recruitment business has justified the raise saying the wage revision for Filipina domestics has come about after almost 20 years.
The new pay package applies to fresh recruits but those Filipina domestics who are already here could demand the new wage once their job contract lapses.
Ali Afifa, who represents local manpower agencies at the Qatar Chamber, representative body of the private sector, said the new wage policy in respect of the maids has been dictated by the Philippine government. There must be no reduction from the $400 paid to a Filipina domestic, he said, adding that a similar wage revision has been undertaken in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE. “Qatari manpower agencies have no hand in this increment,” Afifa clarified.
He earlier inked a deal with the Philippine Association of Manpower Agencies at the Qatar Chamber to the above effect.
Afifa said any manpower agency that violates a contract would be referred to the embassy of the Philippines here which, in turn, would raise the issue with the Qatari Ministry of Labor.
The Ministry would not take the complaint lying down and punish an erring agency which can even lose its licence, said Afifa.
Local social networking sites are, meanwhile, abuzz with the talk of the raise with an increasing number of people criticizing the move saying that maids from other countries would also ask for more payments. “We must boycott Filipina maids and get domestics from other countries,” said one commentator.
Many citizens are bringing domestic and other workers on tourist visas from India and later converting their visas to work, said another commentator.
Yet another man said the move put the sponsor to disadvantage while manpower agencies remained unaffected.
High wage is not an issue, said still another commentator. “What happens if I get a maid and she decides to go back after three months or escapes?” A man who gave his name as Al Sulaiti said he was willing to pay up the increased wage to a Filipina maid provided he didn’t have to pay more than QR5,000 to a manpower agency.
“Let’s get maids from Morocco and other countries,” said another commentator.
the peninsula
