So who thinks that all maids should be paid at least 1,500? (And those who don't pay their maids that much should be ashamed)

the govt don't really care, do they?

except the Government's !

Also, it's nobody elses business what you pay your maid :)

Don't feel bad about your maids salary. She earns a lot more than many other workers like salon staff, and nobody will help them when they are sick or have a family emergency etc.

7 days did an article yesterday about in the Ins and Outs and rules on having a maid.

My maid's son in law works in Karama for 1000 a month. He does get a "room" and food as well. He is trying to pay back an Emirati sponsor the 7 or 8000 that he paid him for a visa ( technically illegal as he doesn't work for him) and he has a wife and 2 children in Sri Lanka. Fortunately our maid is able to help him out.

Doesn't sound too bad to me. Especially all the benefits you add on. I would argue that bonuses are the way to go rather than an inflated salary.

As long as you're happy & your maid is happy with what she's being paid - that's all that counts.

I think it is really depend on where you are originally from. Where I come from AED1500 is what a fresh graduates get paid for their first job. And since I am not getting the western expat salary or package either, I do not feel guilty about paying my Filipina maid AED1600 a month. When I hired an Indonesian maid a few years back through an agency, the agency told me to pay her AED800 as she had experience from Saudi. Apparently, the one without any GCC experience, you can pay between AED600 - AED700. DH and I didn't feel right, so we paid her AED1200 and increased to AED1400 a year later. Many Filipino/na that I know do not pay AED1500 to their Filipina maids as like me, they themselves do not earn western expat salary/packages. And some of them do not even have a separate room for their maid as they themselves live in a 1 bedroom apartment. I do not know what the minimum salary set by Sri Lanka government but Indian government set it at AED1100. I am aware that we are not the most generous employer that a maid could have. When we renew her contract, we told her that we would increase her salary this April, could not send her back every year but would compensate her in other way. We would be very happy if she would stay with us but if she decide to go to another family, we would provide her with good reference. She decided to stay with us for another 2 years. Personally, I think it is very important to be sincere and up front with your maid with what you could or could not offer her from the very beginning. If she is happy with what you provide and how you treat her, it really doesn't matter what other people think. You can't justify all your action to others. My friend hired her maid through an agency. She pays the agency AED2200 every month. How much do you think her maid get from that? AED750!!! Since my friend had bad experience with the previous two maid despite being generous, she now told the maid that she would give her a very good bonus but at the end of the contract. <em>edited by blimey on 15/03/2011</em>