21 June, 2006

Sleeping under the Stairs

1 Dhs per hour. That is what the companies in UAE, which are making windfall profits compared to the rest of the world pay a labourer for working overtime, according to Gulf News Property Weekly article. Not that it is surprising. Every day we come across press releases saying "XXX Billion Dollar Project Launched". Don't they have a few more dirhams to spare for these struggling labourers who are giving Dubai the competitive advantage over the rest of the world?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

you ask if they don't have some dirhams to spare for these poor laborers who r struggling 2 give dubai the competitve advantage over the rest of the world? & i say sadly & most likely & let's be honest, NO.
any1 agree?

B.D. said...

^^^ Disagree, yes they have the money--they being the ones who develop the property. They have the money from sales of units even before construction has started. The prices on these properties for end buyers are not cheap: US$100,000 - 300,000 for a one-bedroom apartment. (I'm an end-buyer. I know--I wish more of the money I'm paying went to the laborers. I would even happily pay more if I knew the laborers would benefit and others fat pockets would not get lined.)

In the US, labor costs are many multiples higher and materials costs are higher, too, yet Dubai properties are generally priced the same as these. They DO have enough money, but the question is do they run off with 100+ percent profit on their investments are do they settle for less. This is all about greed--pure and simple.

eastechoswestrythms said...

It would be interesting to conduct a study and interview laborers and see what they think and if they really are able to 'save' and send a decent size of money back to their homelands.

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