tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6283845125208268798.post4093533776421809094..comments2024-03-27T11:21:40.742+04:00Comments on Muscat Confidential: BBC expose on Dubai's treatment of expat labourUndercover Dragonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10577931944980469254noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6283845125208268798.post-52403614375660502722009-08-06T14:42:26.861+04:002009-08-06T14:42:26.861+04:00I think that the more media coverage this heart br...I think that the more media coverage this heart breaking topic receives, the better. I frequently ask some of our Kalhat guys how they're getting on, and it seems they are treated far better than their Dubai counterparts.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01540203899297500537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6283845125208268798.post-7105766674110313032009-04-08T11:20:00.000+04:002009-04-08T11:20:00.000+04:00DA: Happy to see a joke in this blog. Hope this t...DA: Happy to see a joke in this blog. Hope this trend will continue, rather than showing expertise in foul language. <BR/>It is easy to have fun with housemaid, because they want to make some extra bucks. I have come accross sponsors who have fun with her for free but feel highly upset when she is buying lots of things when she is going on vacation and wonders "how she made so money, maybe she is a prostitute".justcurioushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13345043885592130134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6283845125208268798.post-48959788412062476622009-04-07T21:36:00.000+04:002009-04-07T21:36:00.000+04:00I think dubai property construction workers are wo...I think <A HREF="http://www.marhabahome.com/browse/all/all/Dubai/all" REL="nofollow">dubai property</A> construction workers are worst hit.I have missed the programme.bushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17259679634593031996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6283845125208268798.post-67422034090605128692009-04-07T13:14:00.000+04:002009-04-07T13:14:00.000+04:00Can't disagree with either of you UD and reality b...Can't disagree with either of you UD and reality but...the reason why we are debating such subjects here and not in the west is because of the notorious reputations of the employers to maids and service staff! If they missbehave or do a runner it may be down to several years of built up resentment and total demotivation for the job!<BR/><BR/>Onn a lighter note, if it is lighter. My friend who has recently come to Oman has been interviewing maids with his wife. Despite good references his wife, who will be running the show has declined 4 of them....on the grounds that they are just to pretty and horny looking!!!! Her husband declined to comment and the most practiced of innocent looks!Devils Advocathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05785703803791621820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6283845125208268798.post-41936325666980329162009-04-07T09:40:00.000+04:002009-04-07T09:40:00.000+04:00RealityI agree. I do think that cases of abuse and...Reality<BR/>I agree. I do think that cases of abuse and absconding are the exeptions, not the rule. I know many, many happy housemaids/houseboys who have been with their families for decades and are treated very well. And I would not say that the issue of employee mistreatment is a problem with only 'Omani' employers.<BR/><BR/>That is one thing that made the exit pass rule so absurd - a collective punishment on hundreds of thousands of people just to try to 'fix' a problem that is only a tiny %.<BR/><BR/>But the construction workers do seem to be a special case, in terms of pay, hours, working conditions and accomodation.<BR/><BR/>DA,<BR/>I think anyone who can afford it would love to have a good housemaid, or even a part-time cleaner. It's just that in the west the cost is far too high, coupled with issues of tax and the legal implications of being an employer.Undercover Dragonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10577931944980469254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6283845125208268798.post-10593449747790989822009-04-07T09:06:00.000+04:002009-04-07T09:06:00.000+04:00Devils Advocat.. Not all maids are saints though....Devils Advocat.. <BR/><BR/>Not all maids are saints though. Westerners look at the conditions of these poor people and think every maid is being abused in the Gulf "in various types". <BR/><BR/>I remember a family too, in the US. The husband and the wife went to college and had a baby girl. They decided to hire a maid/nanny from India. They took her to the US. They gave her Sundays off so she can go to church. She met new people who convinced her that she can sue the couple for money and pretend she was abused..etc. She did, and they were sued for about a half a million dollar. <BR/><BR/>It happens all around. I can't pretend that it does not bother me to see some of you here who attack Omani's as if they are all abusers. They are not. I agree that many of them are, and I offer no excuses for them. However, there are good hearted people who do care for their maids. <BR/><BR/>I'm glad you are being honest and not too polite to state the facts, but I hope you at least acknowledge that there are good hearted Omani employers that do care for their maids.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6283845125208268798.post-5857568003031195602009-04-07T08:23:00.000+04:002009-04-07T08:23:00.000+04:00reality, this was what I was alluding to but too ...reality, this was what I was alluding to but too polite to say ;-)<BR/><BR/>Incidently, I was in the UK Embassy a few years ago when I witnessed a tantrum by a senior Omani. Too cut the longest story brief, he was whinging about having to pay the minimum UK wage, a set 8 hour day and not being able to withold the passports of his 3 maids. Checks are being made in the UK due to abuse, not just physical or vebal but abuse of terms and conditions. Why? How? Because these maids ran away and preferred prison to the lives they had in London!Devils Advocathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05785703803791621820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6283845125208268798.post-51745406133142032002009-04-07T06:58:00.000+04:002009-04-07T06:58:00.000+04:00Does anyone know which agency in the Omani Gov't h...Does anyone know which agency in the Omani Gov't has the responsibility of inspecting and maintaining the living standards in labor camps? Just curious if any standards are mandated by law.<BR/><BR/>Oman is a price driven market. The lowest price gets the job. Purchasers ask for HSE Plans, Quality Plans, etc., but at the end of the day, cheap gets it, and the plans gather dust in the drawer. And one of the 'easy' places to cut costs is to cut labor costs.<BR/><BR/>Having said that, I have visited several labor camps in Sohar on the course of my job, and none of them have the nightmare conditions described elsewhere. Bechtel had the best camp. Their standard was one toilet, shower, basin for every eight campers. They figured they got the money back in increased production.Abdullahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17596118994410731450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6283845125208268798.post-71354111570209331372009-04-06T23:51:00.000+04:002009-04-06T23:51:00.000+04:00Devils Advocat, it's actually more Gulf countries ...Devils Advocat, it's actually more Gulf countries than Arabic countries, but do you wanna know why? A wife in Oman, works all day, comes back home to cook, clean, and care for the kids with no help from the husband AT ALL.<BR/><BR/>I'm Omani, and I have never in my life seen an Omani guy washing dishes or vacuuming..etc. They come home from work, and if the food is not on the table waiting for them, they complain. Then, after lunch they sleep from 3 to 6. They go out to have fun leaving the wife to teach the kids, clean, and prepare dinner. They come back, eat dinner, and be shocked that their wife does not have the energy to "play" in bed!<BR/><BR/>I bet if the men, and "male" kids help their mom and sisters out, then it would be a lot better. <BR/>That is why most women in my family get a maid, they are just too exhausted! and I hope I don't fall in a situation like that...!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6283845125208268798.post-78375897720698321762009-04-06T22:22:00.000+04:002009-04-06T22:22:00.000+04:00I've been to 35 countries to include 10 Arabic cou...I've been to 35 countries to include 10 Arabic countris and only the Arabic conries have this fixation with maids and servants. Many wealth European or Western countries with igh middle income large families don't have or ndeed need maids but it seems almost every Omani family I know of has one...can't hack the manual labour!<BR/><BR/>I walk around behind my wife shopping and look at the facs of the Indonesian and Malasian maids and my heart really goes out to them, their faces paint a thousand words!!!!Devils Advocathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05785703803791621820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6283845125208268798.post-22070804165877610132009-04-06T19:23:00.000+04:002009-04-06T19:23:00.000+04:00In Oman, I think construction workers are the ones...In Oman, I think construction workers are the ones with the worst living conditions, but I don't think its as bad as UAE. I think UAE is one of the worst when it comes to human rights. I lived there for a year and was treated like a prisoner who committed a crime. <BR/><BR/>I cannot tell you how many times I've heard this phrase: "Many in Dubai say that this is just globalisation working, and that while the lives of the workers, and the salaries they are paid, look bad to us, to them, where they come from, it's good."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6283845125208268798.post-23353297693476835712009-04-06T19:15:00.000+04:002009-04-06T19:15:00.000+04:00While working in Saudi the recruitment agency we u...While working in Saudi the recruitment agency we used had charged our recruits exactly the same as the fee per person we paid - eg they got double the income when our fee was the recruitment charge.<BR/>Its a shocking amount in the country the recruits come from.<BR/>When a company does not pay a worker once one arrived – they then have 'Mr Bigs' henchmen arrive their family doorstep back in their home country to ‘request’ firmly that money is paid - must be a nightmare.<BR/>Read the rest <A HREF="http://www.mafiwasta.com/links.htm" REL="nofollow">Mafi Wasta</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6283845125208268798.post-81314126031679340672009-04-06T18:46:00.000+04:002009-04-06T18:46:00.000+04:00Yes, to both the agent and government.But typicall...Yes, to both the agent and government.<BR/><BR/>But typically, especially where there is an agency, the workers also pay a big fee just for the promised ability to come here. Illegal or not. And the agencies here must be complicit in knowing that it goes on.Undercover Dragonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10577931944980469254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6283845125208268798.post-65800830036466158672009-04-06T17:47:00.000+04:002009-04-06T17:47:00.000+04:00Don't the Omani's pay for the visa for their emplo...Don't the Omani's pay for the visa for their employees in Oman?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com