DOHA: Recruitment charges for housemaids have shot up in the local market amid restrictions being imposed by several manpower exporting countries.
Indonesia last month imposed a ban on recruitment of its housemaids to 21 countries, mainly in the Middle East.
India had long ago imposed a similar ban, while severe restrictions are in place on recruitment of housemaids from Sri Lanka.
Filipina maids are in high demand in Qatar after the ban on Indonesian maids and recruitment fees have gone up significantly over the past few months, say manpower recruitment agencies.
“Earlier we were charging QR7,300 for a Filipina maid which is now QR10,000,” said a source from an agency ranked in the A category.
Charges vary from one agent to another, depending on various factors, since there is no fixed fees in the market.
Some agencies here charge up to QR12,000 for a Filipina maid, it has been learnt.
Indonesian maids are still in high demand, but new visas are not issued apparently following the ban.
However, they are still being recruited through illegal channels, although in small numbers, at exorbitantly high charges, say sources.
High fees have prompted several citizens to call for stricter monitoring on the recruitment agents here, while the agencies put the blame on an increase in fees charged by agents in the source countries.
“For a Filipina maid, we were paying up to $1,800 as commission to agents which has now gone up to $2,000 (about QR7,283) and rose further to $2,200 ahead of Ramadan,” said the agent.
For Indonesian maids, agents charge as high as $3,000 as “commission” to make them available through illegal channels.
As a result, fees in Qatar have gone up to over QR16,000.
Bangladeshi maids are also available in the market at relatively low rates, with recruitment fees ranging between QR7,000 and QR8,000.
Apart from high prices, some citizens that they are also facing the problem of runaway maids or those who insist on going back to their countries after working here for a short period.
Some allege that there is a tacit understanding between maids and recruiting agencies in this regard.
“After three months, they will come out with excuses and we will be forced to send them home at our expense, after spending so much on their recruitment,” Al Sharq quoted a citizen as saying in a report carried yesterday.
There are also maids who deliberately run away from their sponsors and work elsewhere with support of some people here, citizens allege.
They called to put a cap on recruitment fees and impose stricter monitoring on agencies. The Peninsula
