Majority of UAE residents are open to the idea of paying their house helps end-of-term benefits like gratuity.
In a step forward, the Government of UAE has put in place a new draft law, according to which domestic helpers will be entitled to an end-of-service gratuity. Approved by the Cabinet in January, the bill will take effect once it passes the Federal National Council and is signed into law by the President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Even though maids in the country await more rights legally, a big section of the UAE population believe it is only fair to give them end-of-service benefits.
An 'Emirates 24|7' poll reveals that 65 per cent of the respondents believe giving the maids' benefits like gratuity is only just. They work hard like any other employee, and so should be treated in the same manner, they opted to say.
Many in the country are already giving such benefits to maids without any legal implications in place. Discussions on popular forums show that many domestic helpers are getting their dues just like any other employee.
"Our helper left last year after having been with us for eight years and we gave her eight months' salary (one for each year)," said one resident on the website.
"My maid has been with us for just six months so there is no question of giving her anything like gratuity right now. However, I'm thinking of floating the idea to her as this will motivate her but I will tell her it all depends on how well she takes care of my two year-old," said Sherya Das, a working mother in the UAE.
Even though the majority believes in giving more financial rights to the maids, there is a section of people, who believe the fees in hiring a maid are already exorbitant, leaving no scope for extra expenses.
The poll run by this website shows that 26 per cent of the online respondents will not give gratuity to the maids as they believe there are many added costs in hiring a domestic help. At the same time 9 per cent said they are not sure about the right approach to the subject.
© Emirates 24|7 2012
