DUBAI // The ordeal appears to be over for 84 Filipina cleaners who were abandoned by their employer and left without food, electricity and water at an Ajman villa two weeks ago. The women, who worked for a contracting company cleaning schools, are due cheques for almost three months in back wages that are to be released through the Ministry of Labour today, said Amilbahar Amilasan, the labour attaché in Dubai.
"We also hope that the water and electricity in their villa will be restored once the bills are settled," he added. The women stopped working on September 14, when the majority of them filed a complaint with the Ministry of Labour one day after their electricity was turned off. The issue was settled after a co-ordination meeting yesterday with Benito Valeriano, the consul general in Dubai, and Analiza Magno Concepcion, the new chairman of the Filipino organising committee in Dubai and the Northern Emirates.
The cheques will be handed over by the Ministry of Education to officials at the Philippine overseas labour office in Dubai, who will then turn them over to the Ministry of Labour. "The labour ministry will hand over the salaries to the workers and we will be there to act as witnesses," Mr Amilasan said. The Filipino officials will also look into the payment of the women's end-of-service benefits, such as gratuity and air tickets to Manila, helping those who wish to go home and co-ordinating with the labour ministry to help those who want to remain in the UAE.
The women had worked for Lavito Building Cleaning Services and were deployed to different schools under the UAE Ministry of Education, after arriving in eight batches between January and April last year. They appear to have been victims of contract substitution, said Mr Amilasan. The company has since closed and efforts to find the employer have been in vain, he said.
Merly Perez, 42, who is originally from Marikina City, about 12km from Manila, said the original contracts offered a monthly salary of Dh1,800 and a US$100 (Dh367) food allowance. The document the company submitted to the UAE Ministry of Labour stated a Dh500 basic salary, a Dh100 accommodation allowance and Dh100 for transport. "But I don't recall signing this contract and the signature here isn't mine," she said.
The workers also learnt that their employer failed to process their residence visas, which meant they had been working illegally in the country without valid visas. "We were issued labour cards but our visas were not stamped on our passports," Ms Perez said. On July 27, Ms Perez and her three co-workers filed a case at the labour ministry in Dubai. Their case has since been referred to the Dubai court. The four women attended a hearing on September 21, which was adjourned to October 3. The remaining 80 workers filed a complaint with the labour ministry on September 14.
"Their cases have also been elevated to the Dubai labour court," Mr Amilasan said. Various Filipino community groups have come forward to help the women since learning of their plight. On Friday Ms Perez and her two colleagues received Dh1,825 from Filipinos at a bowling tournament at Khalifa Bowling Centre in Abu Dhabi. At a basketball event at the Al Jazira Club, the players and spectators donated a total of Dh3,157 to the women.
"Knowing that they're unemployed and do not have any means to support themselves, we did not hesitate to extend some help," said Ernesto Refugio, 55, a Filipino engineer in Abu Dhabi. Another group of volunteers from Dubai descended upon the Ajman villa over the weekend, bringing food, toiletries and medicine. Rose Dacaymat, 42, a former fruit vendor from Lubao, Pampanga, about 55km north of Manila, has four children between the ages of 18 and 25.
She came to work as a cleaner in Dubai in February last year, hoping to earn money to build a house for her family. "I don't have any money since we worked unpaid for three months," she said. "Instead of sending money back home, I had to borrow from my youngest daughter." rruiz@thenational.ae
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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De De Pyaar De
Produced: Luv Films, YRF Films
Directed: Akiv Ali
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Rakul Preet Singh, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jaaved Jaffrey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 502hp at 7,600rpm
Torque: 637Nm at 5,150rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh317,671
On sale: now
UAE jiu-jitsu squad
Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Watch live
The National will broadcast live from the IMF on Friday October 13 at 7pm UAE time (3pm GMT) as our Editor-in-Chief Mina Al-Oraibi moderates a panel on how technology can help growth in MENA.
You can find out more here
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Fight card
Bantamweight
Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK) v Rey Nacionales (PHI)
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROM) v Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR)
Catch 74kg
Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) v Omar Hussein (JOR)
Strawweight (Female)
Weronika Zygmunt (POL) v Seo Ye-dam (KOR)
Featherweight
Kaan Ofli (TUR) v Walid Laidi (ALG)
Lightweight
Leandro Martins (BRA) v Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW)
Welterweight
Ahmad Labban (LEB) v Sofiane Benchohra (ALG)
Bantamweight
Jaures Dea (CAM) v Nawras Abzakh (JOR)
Lightweight
Mohammed Yahya (UAE) v Glen Ranillo (PHI)
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) v Aidan Aguilera (AUS)
Welterweight
Mounir Lazzez (TUN) Sasha Palatnikov (HKG)
Featherweight title bout
Romando Dy (PHI) v Lee Do-gyeom (KOR)
The%20specs
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BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
What to watch out for:
Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways
The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof
The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history
Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure
Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Bharat
Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
Starring: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Grover
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Fixtures
Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding