ABU DHABI // Appeals for Filipino domestic staff in the UAE to be paid the minimum wage required by their government are being ignored.
Recruitment agencies say that even if they sign deals agreeing to the minimum wage, it is employers, not agents, who pay the salaries. And many employers say the US$400 (Dh1,470) a month required by the Philippine overseas employment administration is unrealistic.
“We can’t afford to pay our five domestic helpers $400 each,” said Mona, 32, a Filipina who lives with her Emirati husband and their four children in an eight-bedroom villa in Al Ain.
"We have so many expenses – a car loan, house rent and school fees. I spend Dh6,000 every month on groceries alone."
The couple have been married for 10 years and have four sons, aged 9, 7, 4 and 3. They have a cook, a cleaner, a babysitter, a female driver and a gardener, all from the Philippines. Each is paid Dh800 a month, or $218.
“Not all Emiratis are rich and can afford to pay their housemaid $400,” Mona said. “I hope the Philippine government realises this.”
But the view of the Philippine ambassador to the UAE, Grace Princesa, is: if you cannot afford it, do not employ a Filipina housemaid.
“I have to fight for $400,” the ambassador said at an event on Sunday. “What is $400 for rich people here? Please respect our laws.”
Ms Princesa said all employers must agree to pay the minimum. “We hope to come up with a uniform contract for household workers soon,” she said.
On Sunday, the Philippine Association of Manpower Agencies for UAE met recruiters in Abu Dhabi as part of its “goodwill mission” in the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar. “We are here on a mission to ensure that the household service workers’ reform package is followed,” said Madolyn Uanang, the association’s president.
"Our government is very determined to implement it.
"In the Philippines, we are suffering from suspension and cancellations of licences. Here in the UAE, agencies that do not follow Philippines recruitment rules and regulations are being blacklisted."
The reform package also requires domestic workers to be at least 23, undergo skills training, attend a seminar on language and culture, and that they should not pay any placement fees.
On Saturday, the manpower association signed a memorandum of agreement with recruitment agencies in Dubai and the Northern Emirates.
Both parties committed to follow the package and ensure that specific benefits are provided by the employer: one rest day a month, three meals a day, eight hours of uninterrupted sleep, decent sleeping quarters and the right to own and use a mobile phone.
“The agencies were very cooperative,” Ms Uanang said. “They signed the memorandum of agreement without hesitation. They also said they would police their ranks.”
But Talal Dibajeh, owner of a recruitment agency in Abu Dhabi who attended the meeting but did not sign the agreement, said: “We are not paying their salaries, the sponsors are.
“We will try our best but they will not agree to pay $400. The sponsors are saying they already provide free accommodation and can only pay $250.”
The goodwill mission of the manpower association, a member of the Coalition of Licensed Agencies for Domestic Workers, will help the Philippine government to inform recruiters and employers in the UAE that it is serious in implementing the minimum wage, said Nasser Munder, the labour attache in Abu Dhabi.
Many recruitment firms in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain signed a similar memorandum of agreement with the association, he said.
"They have to agree to a $400 minimum wage or they face blacklisting and lose their business," Mr Munder said.
"Filipinos will start applying for domestic jobs in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon.
“They are qualified for the job and practically work 24 hours inside their employer’s home. They should be well compensated.”
[ rruiz@thenational.ae ]
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Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
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Industry: Refurbished electronics
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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