Dubai: With fewer full-time maids flying into the country, cleaning companies in the UAE expect to see stronger demand for their services.

The decline in the number of imported maids is a result of issues between the UAE and some countries that have traditionally exported maids.

Unable to sponsor a housemaid from some of the traditional labour-exporting countries, families are turning to part-time maids employed at cleaning companies.

Cleaning companies normally see a lull in demand during the summer period, but that is expected to pick up in the last week of August and September as residents return from their holidays in time for the new academic year.

Mohammad Tabakh, general manager of Lavender House Care, forecasted his company’s revenue would grow by 20 per cent next year.

“Getting live-in maids has become difficult, so people are turning to part-time maids,” he said.

The residential areas in Dubai that attract the highest number of part-time maids include Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR), Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT), Palm Jumeirah, Downtown Dubai and Business Bay, according to some cleaning companies. Part-time maids normally work for four to five hours per day, twice a week, with cleaning companies charging around Dh30-35 per hour.

With the rise in demand for part-time maids, Tabakh aims to boost his company’s workforce by 50 per cent next year.

Similarly, Abu Bakr Mohammad Kunju, operations manager of Molly Maid, looks to hire 200 more maids in the next few months, and boost revenue by 300 per cent in 2015 over this year.

Cleaning companies in the country pay between Dh6,000 and Dh7,000 to hire a maid, according to Kunju. That amount covers the cost of a bank guarantee, applications for a quota (certain amount of maids to be delivered) and labour card, entry permit, recruitment agency fees, an airline ticket, medical check-up and employment contract, he said.

On the other hand, families that hire a housemaid from abroad pay between Dh6,500 and Dh10,000, which covers the costs of the maid’s accidental death insurance, recruitment agency fees, employment contract and an airline ticket, said Rodel Gabriel, a consultant at Al Sharq Al Aqsa Labour Supply in Sharjah.