Special report: Stories from the UAE’s car washers

Bangladeshi workers reveals how car washers get by during the hot summer months.

Washer Mithun Mondol puts a shine on a customer’s car at his workplace in the Al Wahda Mall car park. Ravindranath K / The National
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ABU DHABI // For car washer Mithun Chandra Mondol, summer is the enemy. Temperatures touching 50˚C are bad enough for most, but spare a thought for the Bangladeshi and workers like him who conduct their business in car parks where engine heat and wall-to-wall concrete make the environment furnace-like.

Mithun washes vehicles at Al Wahda Mall, working shifts and striving to reach targets.

“The principle enemy is the heat in packed basement car parks,” said the 28-year-old. “It becomes worse when the weather gets warmer through June until October.

“Our targets are tough and we have to achieve 260 car washes a month. If we fail to reach this number, our wages would be cut accordingly.”

Mithun earns Dh900 a month and has to pay back the 300,000 Bangladeshi taka (Dh14,144) that he gave to an agent to get his job and visa.

When the mercury rises, he said car washers had to adopt different tactics. “Generally, we look for those cars parked in the ventilated corners and avoid those which are found in the middle of the car park because in the middle the heat is unbearable,” he said. “We ask motorists to park in more ventilated areas and we help them locate empty spots.”

Mithun’s colleague, fellow Bangladeshi Eyasin Sayed Ali, agreed that summer was the most difficult time of year for their work.

“When it gets very hot we go inside the shopping mall for a while to cool off then come back to achieve our target,” said the 23-year-old. For his efforts, Eyasin earns Dh850 a month.

As with most of his colleagues he is paying off a 200,000 Bangladeshi taka (Dh9,550) loan he received four years ago to get a visa.

Despite the extreme conditions, Mithun said that his colleagues and himself generally did not have any health issues; they use untreated water and their skin does not come into contact with the chemicals they use.

“We get commission of Dh7.5 for an SUV and Dh5 for saloon for each vehicle respectively, after washing 12 cars a day. And sometimes we get more cars.”

From Sunday to Wednesday, Mithun said he washed seven to 10 cars a day, and rises to between 15 and 20 vehicle on the other days.

For his customers, a wash costs Dh25 and takes between 20 and 30 minutes using a low-pressure mix of water and no-foam detergent.

Mithun said tips were important to him and he received up to Dh15 each day from customers, with the figure rising on weekends.

Mohammed Mosa, Mithun’s supervisor at the mall, said the washers worked in shifts – from 10am to 7pm and 2pm to 11pm, with both shifts including an hour-long break. Workers also get one day off a week.

Mohammed, who has lived in the UAE for seven years, said the mobile service the company, Geowash, provided was eco-friendly as it saved water.

He said mobile car washing typically consumed just 2.5 litres of water a vehicle compared to petrol stations car washes that sprayed more than 100 litres of water over a single vehicle.

Geowash has 500 workers across the UAE, with about 40 at Al Wahda Mall.

anwar@thenational.ae

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For more on the UAE’s car washers:

The National speaks to the unsung heroes who wash the nation’s cars at malls up and down the country.

Helping family at home gives Abu Dhabi Mall car washers drive to earn more

Finding customers is biggest concern among Ibn Battuta Mall car washers

Heat and humidity means task takes double the time, UAE car washers say

Mushrif Mall car washers fear effects of chemicals on their skin