Amer sent me this: "from the unofficial owners' forum of a Dubai villa development (made up
mostly of rich white ex-pats), they're discussing what to pay for gardeners and maids:
" Please log on to the forum and ask other residents what they are paying. experience has proved that communities like DSO have a gardener / maid cartel problem. The workers gang up and all charge an artificially high price. Since newcomers do not know the going rate, they are duped into paying higher rates. Sadly, some residents are encouraging this by letting their maids work for other residents which is illegal and also without knowing their maids are ganging up and charging up to Dhs 30 an hour for cleaning. The normal rate is Dhs 10-25 in the rest of Dubai for a legitimate cleaning company""