ISO 9001:2008 CERTIFIED NEWSPAPER 2 November 2013 28 Dhul-Hijja 1434 - Volume 18 Number 5871 Price: QR2 ON SATURDAY Fog likely to reduce visibility today DOHA: The weather is forecast to be slightly foggy this morning, reducing vis- ibility to five to 10 kilometres, and even one kilometre at places. The weather bureau said in its forecast for today that there were chances of rain in some places in the north and there could be thunder as well. Poor visibility was to begin late last night and continue in the morning due to mist and fog at places, the forecast said. The wind direction will be southeasterly, with speeds ranging from three to 15 knots. It could be colder in Al Khor in the night as the minimum temperature forecast is 20 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature for Doha was forecast at 25 degrees C, while day temperatures could reach 32 degrees C. Kerry to visit Egypt ahead of Mursi trial CAIRO: US Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Egypt a day before deposed Islamist president Mohammed Mursi goes on trial, the next likely flashpoint in the struggle between his Muslim Brotherhood and the army-backed interim government. Several hundred Islamists protested in a few cities yesterday, responding to a call from a pro-Mursi alliance for daily protests until Mursi stands trial on Monday. In Alexandria, seven people were wounded MAIDS after residents clashed with Mursi support- ers before security forces intervened, a secu- rity official said. Forty-five Mursi supporters were arrested. Pakistani Taliban chief killed in drone strike ISLAMABAD/DERA ISMAIL KHAN: The chief of the Pakistani Taliban was killed by a US drone strike yesterday, security sources and a senior Taliban commander said. Hakimullah Mehsud was one of Pakistan’s most wanted men with a $5m US bounty on his head. He led an insurgency from a secret hideout in North Waziristan, the Taliban’s THE ISSUE stronghold on the Afghan border. “We confirm with great sorrow that our esteemed leader was martyred in a drone The local social media these “Or, she might even fake a suicide attempt, countries,” a recruitment business source said. attack,” a senior Taliban commander said. days are abuzz with talk of so the sponsor must take her to hospital,” he The result is that there is a shortage His funeral will be held today in said. “Then, she leaves for her home country while demand continues to be high. At least Miranshah, the Taliban commander said. how recruitment charges for at our expense.” two embassies have fixed limited quotas for housemaids have been soaring The irony is that when a sponsor files a agencies. lawsuit against a runaway maid or serv- Last May, when the Indonesian embassy One dies, seven hurt in unchecked. ant for attempted suicide, the defendant is introduced a fixed quota system for manpower released pending trial and stays at the spon- agencies, many of them suffered huge finan- LA airport shooting his has been attributed to a host of sor’s residence. cial losses. factors, the most important being “How does the sponsor ensure that the “We were one of them. At the time we had LOS ANGELES: A gunman opened fire restrictions imposed on recruit- maid does not escape again or attempt sui- got 200 visas for Indonesian maids by spend- with an assault rifle at Los Angeles’ inter- Tment of housemaids by some Asian cide in revenge?” ing tens of thousands of riyals,” said an offi- national airport yesterday, killing a secu- countries. The maid is hospitalised and the state pays cial from a manpower agency not wanting his rity agent and wounding seven people, At the same time, Qatari households rue QR1,500 per day. “If you don’t like to work and name in print. officials said. that no one listens to their side of the story. the sponsor refuses to send you home, just Others, however, said they had begun get- Panicked travellers scrambled to escape In a column published in this newspaper late scratch your wrist or consume an antiseptic ting maids from Bangladesh. “When one after the lone suspect, described by witnesses last August, Ahmed Al Muhannady outlined solution,” said Muhannady, hinting that such source of import dries the other opens up. as a young white male, pulled out the gun the challenges Qatari sponsors of maids face. actions by maids were not uncommon. We get about 50 Bangladeshi maids on aver- and began shooting, walking through a secu- The cost of hiring a maid runs into thou- But agency and diplomatic sources say age a month,” he said. rity checkpoint before being stopped in an sands of riyals and she has the option of saying excessive work might be leading some maids There is demand for these maids as the exchange of fire with police. PAGEno after working in6 a family for three months. to resort to such tricks. recruitment charges are relatively lower, at The Los Angeles Times newspaper said the If a family asks her to continue, she can run “This has prompted the embassies of some QR8,200, and so are the wages — QR800 a shooter was believed to be a Transportation away. In that case the sponsor has to pay to manpower exporting countries to restrict month. Security Administration employee at the repatriate her. the numbers of maids coming in from their See also page 2 airport. THE PENINSULA & AGENCIES www.thepeninsulaqatar.com [email protected] | [email protected] Editorial: 4455 7741 | Advertising: 4455 7837 / 4455 7780 NOVEMBER 2, 2013 ON SATURDAY 02 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com Home The rising cost of hiring maids Recruitment charges for The reputation of Indonesian maids have soared housemaids in the country to QR13,500, for Sri Lankans to depends on word of mouth. QR12,000; Kenyans QR8,000; Because of cases of Ethiopians QR7,000 and getting runaway housemaids, many a maid from Bangladesh families ask for a CV before currently costs QR7,500. they recruit a housemaid. BY AZMAT HAROON government imposing a minimum wage of $400 for Two working parents, who wanted to get a maid from housemaids around the world as part of the Household Indonesia, told this newspaper that they contacted ozens of local manpower agencies say that Service Workers (HSW) Policy Reform Package, which nearly five agencies, all of which had them waiting for their businesses are on the verge of closure was opposed by the majority of Qatari families. three months. Many families here prefer Indonesians because of a shortage of visas for Filipina Anees Ahmed, from another agency, said the market because they are Muslims and easily learn Arabic. Ddomestic workers and increasingly strict was going through “a major crisis”. For the Indonesian The Ministry of Interior announced in April that rules on recruiting those from Indonesia. The agen- domestic workers alone, the recruitment charges have two European countries, Bosnia and Macedonia, have cies complain that recruitment charges for domestic increased by 15 percent. The charges for Sri Lankans agreed to send housemaids to Qatar. But local agencies workers have gone up by 40 percent and there are have also increased because manpower agencies in that say that there has been little progress on that front. more restrictions on visas for Filipina housemaids, country are also charging more. “Whenever we visit the Immigration Department who continue to be in high demand. Sources familiar with the issue said restrictions are we are told that the paperwork on the agreement to Recruitment charges for Indonesian maids have imposed because of disputes between housemaids and get housemaids from European countries has not been soared to QR13,500, for Sri Lankans QR12,000; their sponsors. One expert said there was also a lack of completed — the rule is yet to be implemented,” the Kenyans QR8,000; Ethiopians QR7,000 and getting a interest from Filipinas to come and work in Qatar now. agent said. maid from Bangladesh currently costs QR7,500. “At the heart of the issue lies the fact that there The move was also not welcomed by local families, With business fluctuating, there is tough competition have been many cases of abuse and disputes between especially housewives, who were sceptical about ‘beauti- among manpower agencies, most of which vie to get Filipina household workers and local families. When ful young women’ living in their homes as they could visas for Filipina and Indonesian household workers. these cases come to the forefront and rumours are potentially ‘charm away’ their husbands. “Our business has practically come to a halt now that circulated about them, the authorities think that peo- The alternative countries left for agencies then are we can’t get workers from the Philippines,” the owner ple from so and so countries are causing ‘trouble’ and Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Kenya and Ethiopia. of a local manpower agency said, requesting anonymity. just impose restrictions,” he said, seeking anonymity. Although getting household workers from Bangladesh He said he had been running a manpower agency for The expert was also very critical of the Philippines and Ethiopia is cheap, many families do not prefer nearly 20 years and his business had suffered record Overseas Labour Office (Polo) which, he said, often them. losses over the past year. At least six manpower agen- turned a blind eye to those seeking help. A parent seeking domestic help said that the prob- cies shut down recently because they had no work. “It’s not just the domestic workers, getting visas for lem with Indian and Bangladeshi housemaids was that “In case of a dispute between the sponsor and the Filipino workers has generally become very difficult they were very old.