> Cruise Rants > Environmental issues > The Dark Side of Dubai

QUOTE: AJ28 Falkirk:-
It's not a matter of how they should be treated but British and Australian employers do not behave like that at all, regardless of where the staff are employed, at home or in the office.

Physical abuse is not permitted.

In England, Domestic Staff including professional Nannies are not covered by European or English Law in terms of working practices and working time directives. Therefore there is little protection for staff even in the UK. My daughter is a Nanny trained by a world famous College in England. Her first employer in London was Australian and an abuser. Mentally and physically (she was worked all hours without a break though not hit) They usually have to work 12 hour days with babysitting on top of that. Even her college did nothing yet their brochure reads differently!. Yet these Domestic Servants have to rely on the reference from their ex employer in order to get another job and being child carers their references ARE taken up. She has given up the Job she loved and trained 3 years for BECAUSE of the abuse in this country. She has worked for Irish (worst of all) American, Russian, Australian and English (best). There is no training in how to treat staff in your home and since early last Century, there is little experience in the Western world of employing domestic staff and treating them fairly. Without Law behind them (why were they the only ones exempted from legislation you may ask) they are open to being abused. So, are there bad and abusive employers of domestic staff out there in the World - YES. What percentage? Who knows, as no one cares enough to find out and do anything about it.

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no I don't ( why would anyone bother??)- to inform you, this is a cruise forum open for public view, you do not need to sign in to read about cruises etc. You only sign in to post.

Would you be free to to post your views on a public forum in Dubia?
If you report a rape you get arrested
It is a shinny ball scratch the surface and it is cardboard underneath

In England, Domestic Staff including professional Nannies are not covered by European or English Law in terms of working practices and working time directives. Therefore there is little protection for staff even in the UK. My daughter is a Nanny trained by a world famous College in England. Her first employer in London was Australian and an abuser. Mentally and physically (she was worked all hours without a break though not hit) They usually have to work 12 hour days with babysitting on top of that. Even her college did nothing yet their brochure reads differently!. Yet these Domestic Servants have to rely on the reference from their ex employer in order to get another job and being child carers their references ARE taken up. She has given up the Job she loved and trained 3 years for BECAUSE of the abuse in this country. She has worked for Irish (worst of all) American, Russian, Australian and English (best). There is no training in how to treat staff in your home and since early last Century, there is little experience in the Western world of employing domestic staff and treating them fairly. Without Law behind them (why were they the only ones exempted from legislation you may ask) they are open to being abused. So, are there bad and abusive employers of domestic staff out there in the World - YES. What percentage? Who knows, as no one cares enough to find out and do anything about it.[/QUOTE]

Then I stand corrected.

As I have worked all my life it was necessary to employ live in nannies and a cleaning lady.

The cleaning lady was a health fanatic and would check the fridge to see if we were eating the right foods!

The assorted child carers were lovely girls who were also friends after a time. When the time came for them to move on we were sad to say goodbye.

Obviously I was lucky, but I know of other employers who have retained cleaners and gardeners for years without problems.

Now there are just two of us and nothing gets done !

Please forgive the pedantry in my answer, but I have to bite I'm afraid. I worked in Dubai for quite a while and yes much is true in the article posted by the OP. Particularly the piece about the poor Indian workers (who, as it said, built the place.

But don't let the article put you off. It is a fascinating place, and BY FAR the most relaxed of the muslim states (bars are plentiful, for instance).

Here is where I find a few issues No, it is an Emirate - one of 7 in the country (capital: Abu Dhabi) known as UAE (United Arab Emirates).

Nope! Only 6% of the GDP of UAE comes from oil, and most of that comes from Abu Dhabi. Dubai's oil reserves are almost non-existant, which is why the (now deceased) Sheikh decided to re-invent Dubai as a high-class tourist city. His son (mentioned in the article) carries on that work. Most of the 'money' used to build Dubai into a rich resort has come from foreign investment. Actually, Dubai is in severe debt as a result of speculative building (now that said foreign investment has dried up due to world recession). If they had loads of oil, they'd have no problem!

That is true to an extent, but as I said above, Dubai's laws have been made intentionally lax. Remember the Brit couple caught having sex on the beach (not a cocktail!)? All that happened to them was deporation. They deserved FAR harsher treatment, in my opinion. The police actually ignored them at their first visit, returning half hour later to find them still 'at it'. If you want to see Sharia Law in action, try Saudi Arabia. I visited many times on business. Now THAT is a place to avoid at all costs (unless you are muslim - though I have an Egyptian muslim friend who lives and works in Saudi and hates it almost as much as I did!).

Now that I do agree with. But I do miss Dubai a great deal and thoroughly enjoyed living and working there. I will definitely return soon - the city changes very fast and will be entirely different on my next trip.

As I said earlier - do not be put off by the bad publicity. See it for youself. It ain't cheap, it's often gaudy (think Las Vegas on steroids), but it is fun

Multi quotes and only two posts
You must work for their tourist agency

They couldn't afford me!