UAE’s opportunities for blue-collar workers benefit families

The UAE is an oasis of opportunity for hard-working expatriates keen to support their families but who find jobs hard to come by at home. In the first of a series, they tell The National how the move changed their lives.

Raghveer Chand, left, a 45-year-old mason, and T Shiva, a 24-year-old electrician, from India, say working in the UAE brings more opportunity. Christopher Pike / The National

ABU DHABI // For Indian Santosh Chauhan, who is the sole breadwinner in his family, the UAE has turned out to be the perfect place to work.

The 27-year-old electrician, who has lived in the UAE for two years, sends home Dh900 of his monthly Dh1,400 salary, supporting his family and paying for vital hospital treatment for his father, who has a heart condition.

“Being the only son and working member of the family, all responsibility lies on me,” said Mr Chauhan. “The UAE has been a great help for me and my family.”

Mr Chauhan also pays for his sister’s education and looks set to pay for her upcoming wedding.

His story is typical of many blue-collar workers who have benefited from their time in the UAE and have shared their experiences with The National.

Before coming to the UAE, many were unemployed and struggled to support themselves or their loved ones. But here, some say they can earn three times more than their peers in similar professions back home. It is not uncommon for blue-collar workers to send up to 70 per cent of their salaries back home each month.

“I was not doing anything back home and the family pressure was mounting to earn something,” said Pakistani Noor Kamal.

Working as a gardener, Mr Kamal, 25, said he sends most of his monthly pay packet back home.

“I thank God for this job as I am able to earn and save something for my family. Back home I just loitered.

“Now I remit Dh400 [11,147 Pakistani rupees] to my family a month to fix their day-to-day requirements,” he said.

Another gardener, Mohammed Nadeem, also from Pakistan, is the oldest in his family and said he never earned a penny back home.

“I earn Dh700 a month and save Dh400 out of this for the family,” said Mr Nadeem, 27. He was happy that he can now support his family.

Bangladeshi Sharafat Ullah, 25, is a construction worker, and said even if he lost his job in the UAE he would want to stay and find new employment rather than go back.

“I don’t find any better place than the UAE. [Even] If I don’t have work here, [I] still don’t want to go back because of a healthy living here.”

He said that good exchange rates were a bonus when sending money to his family.

“Back home I’ll hardly be able to find work and if I get [a job], it wouldn’t pay that much,” said Mr Ullah.

He earns Dh1,000 a month and sends back Dh600 (12,631 Bangladeshi taka).

T Shiva, 24, an Indian electrician, said he has managed to send money back to his family for them to build their home.

“I support expenditures of my parents and brothers. Just recently we have constructed our home. It’s a big challenge for the poor to build a home in India because it costs too much,” he said.

“Of my total salary I spend Dh800 here and save Dh900 a month to send home.”

Along with his two brothers, who live in India, they managed to save the Dh119,629 (2 million Indian rupees) to build the house.