Meet the Indian-origin UAE businessman who is paying ‘salary’ to housewives of his staff

In a rare gesture, a businessman in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced to give salary to wives of his company’s employees.  The businessman, identified as Sohan Roy, has announced to pay monthly salary to homemaker wives of employees.

Roy owns Aries Group of Companies, based in Sharjah. Roy, in a Facebook post, said that the decision is a recognition of the hard work and commitment of the company’s employees and also the support of spouses to their husbands during the coronavirus pandemic.

“The CEO (Roy) has announced that Aries will launch a scheme to provide regular income from the company to our staff members’ unemployed wives. Details are being prepared and will be made available to all soon. They stated that the wives of the staff members deserve recognition and support for their sacrifices as life partners and support, time, and effort they make for the company’s growth. The scheme also aims to make those in need self-sufficient,” the post stated.

It added that this may be a small step, but “it will be a huge leap towards women empowerment in the corporate world”. 

Besides, Aries also runs a pension scheme for the parents of company’s employees. “Aries prioritizes family values, and it is the only company in the world to have a unique parental pension scheme,” the company said.

According to a report published in Khaleej Times, Aries Group is currently creating a database of the spouses of the male staff. The modalities will be announced soon. It is likely that the remuneration will be decided based on the number of years an employee worked with the group.

Roy originally hails from Kerala. He founded Aries Group of Companies in 1998. According to the company’s website, Aries Group is one of the largest multinational conglomerates in the Middle East with 56 companies operating in 16 countries.

The businessman was inspired by India’s Supreme Court order in an accident case where in the apex court said that the value of a housewife’s work is no less than her employed husband.

Roy had previously been featured as one of the top influential leaders in Middle East 2017, released by Forbes Middle East.

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