Over half of workers expect 15-70% pay boost

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Over half of people working in the Gulf believe their salaries will rise by between 15% and 70% next year, according to the latest survey by ArabianBusiness.com.

The results show many workers expect their employees to stump up extra money to match soaring inflation in the Gulf, which has been driven up in part by skyrocketing property prices.

According to the poll, 37% of respondents said they expect to see their salaries rise by 15% and match inflation in 2008, while a further 15% said they expect to see their wage packets leap by an incredible 70% or above.

However, not everyone painted such a rosy picture. Nearly 30% of respondents suggested they will be worse off, expecting less than a 10% rise in their salaries.

A further 20% of respondents said they do not foresee any increase in their pay cheques next year.

Employees across the Gulf has come under increasing financial pressure over the last year due to the plummeting value of the US dollar, to which all Gulf states, expect Kuwait, have their currencies pegged to.

The drop in value of dollar against major global currencies has meant money expatriates send home is not worth as much.

It has also meant the cost of goods imported from places such as Europe have increased.

In an effort to reduce the impact of inflation, governments in the Gulf are looking at or have already announced increases in public and private sector salaries.

Saudi Arabia is expected to announce a 30% rise in public sector pay 'soon' following reports that a number of high-profile Saudi companies plan to hike salaries 15-40%.

Kuwaiti MPs approved a draft law last week urging the government to raise public and private sector wages for employees earning less than $6,385.

While Bahrain has approved calls for a 15% hike for government employees, and the UAE recently announced it will raise public sector wages by 70%.

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READERS' COMMENTS

Rich List: Time to share the wealth
Posted by Norman Wilcox, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday 11 December 2007 at 10:23 UAE time

Just about every rich employer in the Gulf has forgotten or never realised that their vast wealth has come on the back of foreign workers, without whom the oil would still be under the sand and the natives still in their tents.
It is time some part of this huge wealth was shared more equally with those who made it possible.

Let's hope it happens
Posted by rachiel, Dubai on Monday 10 December 2007 at 23:31 UAE time

I really hope that it happens because I believe all employees deserve to have a raise for all the efforts they have done for their respective companies.
A raise is enough to recognise what people have done for the company they work in. It doesn't have to be 70%, though I really hope it's not just 5%. I hope it's something reasonable and something that either matches the rate of inflation and/or that is merited.
It may sound corny but it will definitely put a smile on everyone's faces and start 2008 on the right note.

Wage hikes: What about from a company's perspective?
Posted by Kenneth McLachlan, Dubai, UAE on Monday 10 December 2007 at 19:10 UAE time

Of course, everyone wants a pay rise, but what about putting yourselves in the shoes of a company's management team where the cost of doing business in the UAE is increasing. Rent, insurance and fuel prices are all rising. Companies have to look at the increased costs which in turn means that they have to squeeze suppliers to reduce their costs.
If you are doing the same level of business in the UAE as last year then your profitability is going to suffer, therefore more pressure has to be put on your sales force to increase sales. Today, every company is in the same boat and everyone in the UAE is squeezing each other making it more difficult to stay in the Emirates and to do business here.
There will come a point in time where the decision makers will look to do business elsewhere in more cost effective locations such as India.
Companies do care about their employees and will try to provide pay inceases where they can. If they cannot give their employees the increase then the merry-go-round of employees leaving for better paid jobs or even going home (which is happening in the marketplace with a lot of people from India) will continue.
Companies will then have the cost associated with losing experienced employees and having to recruit and train new employees. It will also affect the service levels of these companies in the short-term and the customers will suffer.

The other half are polishing their CVs
Posted by RAJENDRA ANEJA, DUBAI, UAE on Monday 10 December 2007 at 15:43 UAE time

Half the workers in the GCC are expecting a raise? I guess the other half must have resigned themselves to their fates of getting no money whatsoever and are polishing their CVs in readiness for another job somewhere else.

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