Visas for Philippine maids suspended

The Passports and Immigration Department has suspended issuing visas to Filipina housemaids after the Philippines government decided to double the minimum salary requirement for them from $200 to $400 per month. The Arabic daily Al-Watan reported yesterday that the hike in the salary has caused much resentment among nationals and expatriates who prefer to employ Filipina maids. In a related development, manpower agencies have raised their charges from QR10,000 to QR11,500 for recruiting maids from Ethiopia, Sri Lanka and Indonesia as the monthly salary for maids from these countries will be only in the range of QR700 to QR800 and hence there will be greater demand. The Labour Ministry is pursuing its efforts to recruit maids from Vietnam, Cambodia and Bangladesh on a monthly salary of QR700 to QR800 through manpower agencies, the report added.