Saudi schools close after minimum pay rule

Posted by: Anon Friday, 1 February 2013 10:38 AM[UAE] - dubai

This is about controlling the rising tide of discontent and growing resentment in KSA.

Posted by: Thamir Ghaslan Thursday, 31 January 2013 9:05 AM[UAE] - Saudi Arabia

13 private schools shut down out of a total 3,375 and the comments make it seem like a big deal! This is below 1% of total private schools!

Survival of the fittest! All the weak performing establishments will be flushed out of the economy.

Saudization is here to stay and is going to get tougher, and expats can whine or be negative all they want.

I'm sure the government knows what its doing unlike expats who come from broken governments.

Posted by: Ahsan Al Ansari Thursday, 31 January 2013 2:54 PM[UAE] - United Kingdom

Intoduction of minimum wage with back date sounds stupid!

Nothing wrong with Saudization, but, when these establishments are "flushed out", along with Expat teachers, Saudi teachers would be losing there jobs as well. Has the Saudi govt thought about this?

Posted by: Mickey rosenthal Thursday, 31 January 2013 9:04 AM[UAE] - USA

This is nothing but Saudi arrogance. This has nothing to do with business. I believe in fair pay, but that also needs to include expat teachers since they do most of the work. Most of the Saudi teachers only teach one class and get paid more than their expat counterpart who teach sometimes 2 or 3 different subject classes. No wonder people leave Saudi and a lot of these Arab countries. The rules and regulations are not only ridiculous, they change like the weather.

Posted by: Vicky Thursday, 31 January 2013 9:04 AM[UAE] - Canada

It is important to think sensibly about the impacts and alternatives beore a decision is executed. Taking Procan's view further, I can say that Canada really goes through the public debate and due diligence before any decision. Minimum wage is well supported by the overall economic and taxation policy because it has cascading effect on various layers, as money tends to circulate rather than getting lost. I hope KSA learns to take a holistic view rather than appeasing to short term, narrow objectives.

Posted by: Telcoguy Wednesday, 30 January 2013 1:45 PM[UAE] - UAE

Yes. A perfect example of the risks of doing business here, and why you need an exit strategy from day 1
My only question is this forced closure was the desired outcome (forcing a consolidation in a fragmented market or maybe making room for a large player) or it was simply something that nobody considered when making this rule by people who do not fully understand the consequences of their decisions (what could go wrong with increasing salaries like this? Everybody will be happy!)
Education seems to be getting lot of airtime in AB I wonder what is going on