ABU DHABI // Emiratis should not be forced to pay minimum wages set by maids' home countries, an FNC member will argue this week.
The UAE sets no minimum wage for maids but many countries do, and refuse to allow their citizens to be hired for less.
More than 100 UAE recruitment agencies signed an agreement with the Philippine Association of Manpower Agencies in November, agreeing to a minimum wage for domestic staff at US$400 (Dh1,469) a month. India has set a Dh1,100 monthly minimum wage for domestic staff in the UAE, Indonesia Dh800, Sri Lanka Dh825, and Bangladesh Dh750. Nepal requires at least Dh900 and has banned women under 30 from working in the Arabian Gulf.
At tomorrow's FNC session, Hamad Al Rahoomi (Dubai), will ask Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the foreign minister, if it is legal for embassies to proactively ensure these minimums are upheld.
"Some embassies directly contact private companies and give them orders," Mr Al Rahoomi said. "What we know is there should be agreements and rules set through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
Mr Al Rahoomi said rules about minimum wages should come from the ministry, not embassies.
"This is inappropriate interference," he said. "I believe other GCC countries don't accept this."
He has received an increasing number of complaints from Emirati families about this issue, and said they could not understand why they should pay maids more to do the same job as before.
"Why should they get a 100 per cent raise when they're not doing any more work?" he asked. "A lot of Emiratis came and complained about this."
Mr Al Rahoomi said that in many cases, both the maid and the family were happy with the previous salary, which was usually between Dh700 and Dh900 a month.
"This is just their salary that they get in full every month, everything else is paid for - food, clothes, health, accommodation, travel, even extra luggage to send home," he said. "This has been the situation for years. So we are surprised. If the two parties are happy, why change it?"
"The contract should not come from the embassy but through [official channels in the UAE]," Mr Al Rahoomi said. "Employees' rights are being protected but not employers'."
The situation means many now prefer maids from countries that do not impose such requirements.
"This is taking advantage of UAE nationals," he said. "Some have started to draw up side contracts with maids to avoid minimum wages.
"This could be problematic in the future."
osalem@thenational.ae
ICC men's cricketer of the year
2004 - Rahul Dravid (IND) ; 2005 - Jacques Kallis (SA) and Andrew Flintoff (ENG); 2006 - Ricky Ponting (AUS); 2007 - Ricky Ponting; 2008 - Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI); 2009 - Mitchell Johnson (AUS); 2010 - Sachin Tendulkar (IND); 2011 - Jonathan Trott (ENG); 2012 - Kumar Sangakkara (SL); 2013 - Michael Clarke (AUS); 2014 - Mitchell Johnson; 2015 - Steve Smith (AUS); 2016 - Ravichandran Ashwin (IND); 2017 - Virat Kohli (IND); 2018 - Virat Kohli; 2019 - Ben Stokes (ENG); 2021 - Shaheen Afridi
Low turnout
Two months before the first round on April 10, the appetite of voters for the election is low.
Mathieu Gallard, account manager with Ipsos, which conducted the most recent poll, said current forecasts suggested only two-thirds were "very likely" to vote in the first round, compared with a 78 per cent turnout in the 2017 presidential elections.
"It depends on how interesting the campaign is on their main concerns," he told The National. "Just now, it's hard to say who, between Macron and the candidates of the right, would be most affected by a low turnout."
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
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The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLA
Price, base / as tested Dh150,900 / Dh173,600
Engine 2.0L inline four-cylinder
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 211hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 1,200rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.4L / 100km
How to keep control of your emotions
If your investment decisions are being dictated by emotions such as fear, greed, hope, frustration and boredom, it is time for a rethink, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, says.
Greed
Greedy investors trade beyond their means, open more positions than usual or hold on to positions too long to chase an even greater gain. “All too often, they incur a heavy loss and may even wipe out the profit already made.
Tip: Ignore the short-term hype, noise and froth and invest for the long-term plan, based on sound fundamentals.
Fear
The risk of making a loss can cloud decision-making. “This can cause you to close out a position too early, or miss out on a profit by being too afraid to open a trade,” he says.
Tip: Start with a plan, and stick to it. For added security, consider placing stops to reduce any losses and limits to lock in profits.
Hope
While all traders need hope to start trading, excessive optimism can backfire. Too many traders hold on to a losing trade because they believe that it will reverse its trend and become profitable.
Tip: Set realistic goals. Be happy with what you have earned, rather than frustrated by what you could have earned.
Frustration
Traders can get annoyed when the markets have behaved in unexpected ways and generates losses or fails to deliver anticipated gains.
Tip: Accept in advance that asset price movements are completely unpredictable and you will suffer losses at some point. These can be managed, say, by attaching stops and limits to your trades.
Boredom
Too many investors buy and sell because they want something to do. They are trading as entertainment, rather than in the hope of making money. As well as making bad decisions, the extra dealing charges eat into returns.
Tip: Open an online demo account and get your thrills without risking real money.
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Unresolved crisis
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president was ousted, Moscow annexed Crimea and then backed a separatist insurgency in the east.
Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.
Tank warfare
Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks.
“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.
“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
