ABU DHABI // The 25,000 labourers at Musaffah’s Workers Village housing complex enjoy central air conditioning, indoor sports areas and well-organised, clean dining halls.
The laundry has 175 employees, including 20 deliverymen. They wash and deliver clothes daily for about 5,000 labourers. Six to eight tonnes of clothing are washed and delivered every day.
“We charge only Dh60 a month for laundry for workers with unlimited clothes to wash,” said Ghassan Farajallah, manager of sales and marketing at the village.
Laundry fees go up to Dh100 for supervisors, and it takes two days. The service is optional.
Workers can live in groups of two, four, six or eight.
Depending on how many men live together, accommodation costs start from Dh390 for 10 in a room, excluding catering and laundry fees.
“Ten persons share a room in the camp having six metres space per head, while the international standard is three metres per head,” said Moataz Mashal, managing director of Al Barakah Investment.
“At the village we are above the international standards.”
He said the village was his company’s main business and “we want to provide all kinds of facilities. If any workers have issues, they can come to us and we will resolve it”.
Internet access packages start at Dh40 a month.
M Ravi, a driver who earns Dh1,500 a month, said: “Accommodation is good and air conditioning is also good. We don’t have any problem.”
Mohammed Waqas, a welder, said he eats outside the village, but has no complaints about the accommodation.
The camp includes a supermarket, mosque and hospital.
Mr Mashal said the concerns of residents are quickly addressed: “We sit with workers and ask the caterer or facility manager concerned to immediately fix it accordingly.”
anwar@thenational.ae
