Are housemaids paid well in Qatar

mandy.. my point is that you are hiring a maid according to your standards in the U.S or sorta! maybe a lower.. but still

the standards in the middle east and the countries where they come from are different..

again, I don't agree with having a maid even though I grew up in a home with one.. (my parents still have a maid) but I refuse to do so, because I always feel guilty about them and how they leave their homes and kids and husbands for a job like this.. I feel that no matter how "nice" I was.. they just feel abused because of their circumstances... and the second reason for not having a maid is that for privacy issues..

I prefer having a cleaning company helping me out every now and then...

by the way.. there is such thing as "spoiling your maid".. want to hear another story??

my cousin who had a maid, she lives in Syria, she was so nice to her maid... you know a TV in her room, a private fridge.. chocolate and snacks.. getting days off.. a cell phone.. gifts.. etc.. etc..

she was really nice to her too, they used to talk and chat together while working or cooking... I couldn't beleive how nice she was to her.. and always thought how good of an idea it was to befriend your maid.. beacuse after all she looks after you kids and you want her to be nice to them too..she felt sorry for her.. let her talk to her family every week(overseas)..

and once upon a time the maid attacked my cousin because they had a minor arguement with her.. I mean really minor..but she kinda snapped.. and by attack I mean throw my cousin on the floor and punsh her on the face.. while her husband rushed to the room to take her off of her... the maid was sent back home of course.. and my cousin never had a maid after that!

one other story... speaking of black magic(above).. my in laws found some fingernails tucked in a cloth in her drawer, with some sort of weird writing on a piece of paper.. and when confronted she admited they were my mother in law's leftover fingernails from cutting her fingernails..

holy sh****

lol.. I have a lot of maid stories!

exactly.. it's like WK knows all world's religions and he absolutly knows that's it's impossible! what if she has a religion that you don't even know about?!

or he's assuming that I'm attacking his religion.. which I'm not.. don't take it personal.. sheesh!

there are various religions in this world! anyways.. no maids were hurt in this story....

about plumbers.. yes.. lol.. my hubby is a doctor.. and when our plumber in the U.S came to fix our tub.. my husband decided to change professions! IT COST US AN ARM AND A LEG!

why such a big deal about the fire story WK? it's second hand--not what do u want's first hand experience of her made. maybe this girl had her own religion.

nannies and maids in the UK are very expensive too and hard to find. most are polish nowadays but still expensive. lol at the plumber. our neighbour in the us was a plumber (owned his own firm) and he drove a ferrari!

ok.. u got me.. I'm lying... what is wrong with u guys?? why would I do that?? oooh.. maybe i have something against hindus! u know and I'm taking my revenge!

btw.. the family is not in Qatar.. they were in Kuwait at the time! and to be honest(or a liar according to you)I don't think she was indian.

but why would u care? I'm lying!

anyways... peace out!

WDYW, I think you missed my point. I am talking about my maid here in Qatar who is from a small, impoverished country. I can't affford a maid in the US. With minimum wage and benefits the lowest cost would be $35,000 a year, about 12,000 QR a month.

Mandi

Brit there is no Parsi maid in Qatar, hell there is hardly any Parsi maid in India.

Government of India doesn't allow any Indian to come and work as maid in Qatar so if it was a parsi maid then the employer is doing something illegal.

what do you want can you tell me your friend's address so that I can report them for their illegal activities.

I think he/she is talking about Parsis.

what do you want you are lying.

there is no such ritual which requires burning fire everyday.

I am a Hindu.

look under classified here on QL.. I think I saw an add for one!

one more thing.. I think you people should stop comparing maids here with maids in the U.S( or brought from the U.S).. it's totally different!

the maids here as I mentioned in this thread before.. come from poor areas in their countries... they do appreciate the pay they get.. even though it seems mediocre to u...it's good money for them.. and most of the time they are grateful for it if you were nice to them, and give them gifts and bonuses.. (as I mentioned before our maid from childhood, bought a 7 bedroom house from her pay)..

USUALLY they are not overworked... because evening are off.. just like a housewife who is done from cooking and cleaning and so forth.... those fly in maids become part of the family.. they have no place to go.. btw.. they usually have tvs in their rooms if not at least a radio or cd player.. ours had a cd player.. but we hade two family rooms and she used to go watch tv in the other one if she didn't want to watch what we were watching(she was into bollywood movies)...

even weekends they barely do anything because the families want to be out and about and they go with them.. and wherever we go on vacation she goes with us also barely do anything but enjoy the beach..

the maids or nannies in the U.S expect more and won't do a good job if they don't get what they expect.. or what you expect... that's what's considered a "good pay" in the U.S otherwise their service would suck.. or you won't trust her with your kids..

it's just different.. two different situations.. no need for comparison!

just for the heck of it.. I'll compare plumbers here to plumbers in the U.S.. when we asked for a plumber here, we paid about 1/10 of what our plumber in the U.S asked us for.. and beleive me the quality here was much better!

the story is NOT BULLSH*T! why do u accuse me of lying?? why would I lie??.. and who the hell taught you "language"....

have you heard of civil converstation??

anyways.. the story about "worshipping fire" is true.. just because u "met a lot of hindus" that doesn't mean that u met the person I'm talking about! I heard the story from the person who hired a maid.. and she is a friend of mine who wouldn't lie..

and just to let you know... those maids are sometimes from very remote and poor villages.. and you would be surprised what they come up with!

sheesh..

We are an American family that is looking for a maid to sponsor. If anyone knows of one that is already in the country looking to be spoiled, please let me know!!! :o)

If you pay her well and treat her well, then she will show more allegiance and work harder.

If you just pay her the minimum, then she'll just do enogh to get by.

I think the fire thing is just bullshyte, false story. Haven't heard of anyone doing anything remotely similar to it on a daily basis and I have been around very religious Hindus.

You get what you pay for. It's as simple as that. Here's another saying "treat those as you would like to be treated"

For how long can you work a maid for 750, no days off, no cell phone, or tv, or radio in their room? I even know of someone who locks the maid inside the house so she can't go outside and walk around the compound just in case she speaks to another maid and finds out they are making more.

seriously???

The fire thing-very interesting. I've heard of some housemaids from Indonesia doing black magic, but never fire worship!

But you don't pay more than the advertised price or look for the store that charges the most for the same thing do you?

2012, to use your analogy, I pay more for premium petrol.

Mandi

As I support my maid by providing her a salary.

I do - By bringing them my custom.

Family who owns the store are human beings. Why not improve their lives?

If you can afford to pay more and make a difference to their lives - then why not. we're talking about a human being here and not a commodity.

I would simply point out that she was underpricing herself according to the market. If someone charges me a mistaken price I will point that out.

Mandi

Why pay more for something when you can get it for less? When I fill up my vehicle with petrol, I do not offer to pay more for it in Qatar simply because I pay more when I am in France or Germany. Do you?

And Minoush is just as good to her maid as I am to mine.

Mandi

I wouldn't give the agency a cent. I'd give it to the maid!

Mandi

@Minoush.. please be kind to human..

Could be...but a very interesting case!

Even the sun is a huge ball of fire fuelled by gasses!

Edifis,

She's probably trying to improvise ;P

mandi,

my question is, if ur "maid" even though the name doesn't seem to suit her...asks you for a 500 dollars pay, instead of a 2000. and tell ya.. that's ok..

would you still offer her a 2000!

that's the point.. here in Qatar, agencies "ask" you for a $$$ pay for the maid.. I don't think you would be considered "sane" if you say.. oh poor thing.. I want to give her $$$$!

Well, my maid here does have her own house out by the pool in the garden. And she has relatives and friends here so she goes to church and stays with friends over the weekends. Her vacation is more often than every two years and she gets her salary while on vacation, so?

Mandi

LOL! what do you want.... praying fire in the kitchen!This made me laugh really! That's precious. The maid was probably an Indian Hindu or Parsi!

The Hindu's invoke the fire God by making a special fire in a square masonry enclosure. We use fire wood as fuel and pour ghee on it! But praying a gas stove flame...she can't be a Parsi as Parsis in India are extremely rich. They will never work as a maid in anybodys house!

usually Muslim families prefer a Muslim maid(usually, not always) but that's because this maid is a nanny, too! which means she would be taking care of kids.. and that's why they want her to be Muslim.. So the kids won't be taught something that contradicts with their belief..

But if the family has no preference then that means that they woudn't bother her about her religion.. because the religion is listed on the maid's cv....

p.s. my aunt had a sirilankan maid who was a buddist.. and that wasn't a problem for them.. or for her..

another p.s. a friend of mine had a maid that worships fire.. and they had to change the gas tube(for the stove) every 2/3 days without knowing why.. until they knew that she wasn't cooking in the kitchen but praying ;p

Mandi,

the difference is that maids in Qatar, originally live far away from home... so in Qatar there is no "their own house".... there is no way you can give them two days off! where are they going to go? it's different here.. they get a vacation every two years.. and tickets to their homes are paid.. they get evening "rest" but they spend it in their own rooms relaxing.. but that's all!

Yup, two days a week off, afternoon siesta, evenings free to watch TV in her own house, vacations when she wishes to schedule. My dear maid is worth every bit. What price professionalism, loyalty and friendship?

Mandi

Sounds harsh Mr. Olympics, but if that is the rate. I heard, too, that different maids get more or less based on their nationalities, and that Christian maids are afraid to work for Muslim families.

Is this true or more Qatar urban legends?

2 days off!! And afternoon siesta too! Minoush can I be your maid?

750 is low but 1200 is fair salary. One afternoon a week unless she is needed. We provide food and clothing and flight home every two years. She is very glad to work for my family and makes much more money than in home country. You people who pay so much, why? When you go to Lulu and find a sale price on oranges do you go to the check out and insist on paying more?

Ummm.. have you ever heard of SARCASM???

I'm one of those bloody Americans who pay their maid too much and give them 2 days off a week.

Trying to have a little fun with those who say we are running up the salaries.

Take a deep breath and relax Cheeseburger1997!!!

I don't agree with having a maid and that's for privacy issues.. but I sure would appreciate "the help"

however, when I grew up we had a maid.. usually she would be done from "work" by 6 or 7 pm.. but if we had a gathering or some guests she would be working.... so you can say that usually she is Done by evening.. she would be lounging in her room.. reading.. or whatever..

as for pay.. the agency specifies how much you pay.. (that might sound harsh) but usually some nationalities are more expensive than others, and experience counts.. because if she's new to this then the first couple of months would be torture for you and her!

however, according to our maid.. the estimated 125 dollars a month we used to pay her was more than enough for her family there.. SHE BOUGHT A 7 BEDROOM HOUSE IN TWO YEARS!!!!!

I must add, we used to give her a lot of bonuses.. eg. if we had some house guests we would give her 20 dollars after they are gone..or even more (depends).. and we would give her gold pendants or rings and what not for Eid.. we would always buy her new clothes that she preferred to put away for her home country..

As for the U.S... you can never compare!! Nanny's are very well overpaid.. and they don't work much! But you have to keep in mind.. that there are many many people who have "illegal" nannies that are well underpaid and overworked!

Cheseburger...ever heard about sarcasm? Ah well, I guess not.

You have got some nerve saying that Minoush.. hasnt your mother taught you any manners? 750... for someone who practically works 24 hours a day? Treat people like us? they ARE HUMANS... THEY SHOULD BE TREATED LIKE US YOU TWAT.

bump

Darn Yanks- They are ruining it for everybody! How am I going to get away with paying my maid 750 qr and no days off anymore???

I especially hate those Yanks who give their maid -GASP...TWO DAYS OFF!!! How dare we treat these poeple like us. They are just lowly 3rd world immigrants, aren't they???

All American families I know pay more than 2,000 a month, so I guess it is worse than you thought Olympics. I don't see how this spoils them. It makes them sound like children when you say that.

You have to be very careful when selecting a maid Volley. We've had two maids here (the first returned home to start her own family). Since ours spends time with our children, we won't go through an agency but instead have relieved on references from other Western expat families who are returning home and wanting to find a good place for their maid.

Being a maid probably varies enormously depending on the house you work in. I feel so sorry for some of the maids I see when i go grocery shopping. They look so defeated and listless.

How much they get paid depends on Sir's nationality. Americans drive up prices for everyone else paying them 2000 a month and giving them afternoons off.