Ramadan demand raises maid salaries

Ramadan has caused a surge in demand for domestic help, resulting in monthly wages exceeding SR1,800, according to sources.
Most families have resigned themselves to the situation since they are unable to find alternatives.
“The average maid gets paid SR200 per hour and sometimes more if she can cook,” said Rowaydah Al-Hamdan. She said her family cannot do without a maid but that her salary far exceeds the family’s budget.
Fadiyah Al-Qahtani echoes the view that increased demand for domestic help has caused an overall increase in the cost of hiring a maid. “They are in control because they know they are indispensable,” Al-Qahtani said, adding that the situation will persist since there is no regulation and no alternatives.
“Some of them took advantage of the grace period to ask for a raise,” Al-Qahtani said. “My maid, for example, has asked me to raise her salary from SR1,800 to SR2,300 during Ramadan in order to be able to legalize her status.”
Maram Baaynah, a teacher, said that maids are necessary for a big family and a working mother.
“I cannot bear the burden of five children, a husband and a mother-in-law by myself since I work. As such, we are being forced to succumb to extortion.”
Another working woman, Maha Al-Hamdan, has demanded the establishment of firms that provide domestic help by the month or the hour as in GCC states.
One housemaid, who asked to remain anonymous, agreed that salaries are on the rise but for good reason. “Why shouldn’t we ask for higher salaries during Ramadan?” she says. “The hours are longer, the work is harder, and there is greater demand on the part of Saudi families because they can’t always find good helpers. It’s like everything else during Ramadan. Prices go up; why shouldn’t wages? It’s the cost of doing business.”
Suzan Al-Hamdan was astonished to learn that her grandmother bought an iPhone for her maid to persuade her not to leave the house during Ramadan. The grandmother justified her action saying she is an old women and cannot afford to be doing house work.
On the other hand, Hanan Bukhari refuses to submit to salary increase requests from maids, saying: “The majority of workers have taken advantage of the urgent need for them, threatening to leave the house for more money elsewhere,” adding that she has since hired a maid by the hour instead.
Most households are in need of extra help during Ramadan in particular, says Sarah Othman. “Since I am a working housewife, the extra help is a blessing,” Othman said.
Um Salem from the Eastern Province said that her maid ran away only four months after her arrival. “A friend had told us that her sister-in-law wanted to let her maid go, so we took her on. She turned out to be more hassle than she’s worth but we are forced to keep her on until the end of Ramadan,” she said.
“Maids think they have the upper hand in this matter, engaging in a kind of arm-twisting battle. This is not true. The fact is that Saudi families are becoming more rational these days and are able to share in the burdens of housework,” said Sahar Rajab, a counselor at the Arab Council and the United Nations. “There is nothing to worry about. Families should strike a balance between domestic affairs and delegate to members of their family. If we’d put our foot down from the start, prices wouldn’t have spun out of control.”