That's right - an extra 70% in my bank account at the end of each month would be most welcome. But as I was born in the wrong part of the world, and hold the wrong passport, all I can do is write a letter to Santa and hope! (Read the story here if you've been asleep for the past few days.)
However, my hard-working Emirati colleagues have been blessed already it seems, as they'll be receiving an enormous pay increase - without having to do any extra work to get it! Seeing as it's doubtful whether they do any work anyway, I don't suppose we'll see an increase in productivity, either. After all, 70% of not very much is ... well, not very much.
But I'm still wondering - will there be a 70% rise in Emirati absenteeism? Will they be drinking 70% more tea, and taking 70% more personal calls on their phones at work? And will those nice ladies at the Vehicle Registrations place be 70% more ineffective? One can only look forward to a whole range of possible surprises. Or not.
As one who has to jump through loads of hoops and fill in piles of paperwork to get even a 2% annual increase from my stingy federal employer, I feel I have a right to be peeved. But how do others feel - expats and locals? Please leave your thoughts below.
And any comments that comtain the yawning cliche "if you don't like it, go back home" will be automatically deleted, so don't waste your time. Those who actually try to justify the rewarding of inefficiency will be welcome.
Donald J. Trump, the Man, the Flag
3 hours ago
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40 comments:
Oh, wow, just imagine. 70% more white LandCruisers on the road. And 70% more accidents! Saints preserve us!!
Spot on, great and honest post
Well, now some passport holders would know how "lesser" passport holders feel when they are offered 1/3rd the salary based on their passport ......
And no, its not about qualifications/ability. Few years back, a graduate of Georgia Tech, with substantial experience, was offfered 5000 Dhs to work as an engineer.......and on his dismay was told that he could have received at least 15000 if he had an American passport along with his American degree. Needless to say he returned to the USA where he is making ~100k....
There are countless other cases that I know of, including my very own, but oh well, at least my present employer values me above my passport.
First of all let me say that your comments are highly offensive and very discriminating, you're imposing a stereotype and unfairly judging the Emarati's that do work hard.
Second, since you are A federal government employee, you would know that the 70% increase is simply a step to make previous pay-rises labeled "compensatory allowances" into the basic salary, so that it is reflected in the pension payouts.
You sound bitter, for future reference, don't write your emails when they're so obviously emotionally-driven
Looks like people have heeded the instructions in the last paragraph of your post...
This is part of the government's drive to encourage the young Emaratis from taking jobs in the private sector... NOT
Let me try to justify this 70% hike in very simple words...
A few thousand years ago, God went to a small tribe in the Middle East and told them they were the chosen people.
Then, somewhere around 1971, God changed his mind and decided the chosen people would eventually be the Abu Dhabi tribes.
Since then, the Almighty Lord has consistently blessed the locals with godsends - most notably a smart Sheikh since the inception of the UAE, an unmatched ratio of non-renewable fossile fuel reserves per capita, and lately a 70% salary and allowance increase.
See? Things are actually pretty simple. Now, if you're not among the chosen people, well, too bad for you.
I have one point to add to yours -
How about paying for teachers based on their qualifications and experience rather than their passports or color of their skins??
Can one explain paying more for someone without an university degree in that subject to teach because of their accents or just because their feel that are entitled to it??
Its the same raise they got 2 years ago, stop bluffing ...
I hope yo can a decent raise. Merry Christmas!
this is scary.. are you actually allowed to teach young minds?
can you not read? this is a 70% increase on basic pay, not total pay.. thus the total increase to disposable income is a max of 35%, and can be as much as 20% after you take out retirement allowances etc.
also this is due for federal staff, and not local government staff.. it's known that fed. staff get paid less than others.. we're talking ppl who earn 4000 dhs or 8000 dhs.. trust me, these people need all the help they can get.
not every emarati is swimming in money my friend..
just like not everyone that says they are a teacher can actually teach :)
PS: you posted this twice, perhaps you can delete the earlier post, or one of the admins can do it for u?
You got your wish, no one saying you should leave, but one smart comment and another trying his best to show he is "loyal", and clarifying that expats who earn 4000 Dhs dont need "help".....
This is simply the same 70% increase that Abu Dhabi Government employees say 2 years ago.
It was a bit unfair that an Abu Dhabi local government employee was being paid 10-15K more than the federal govt employee doing the same job.
Not a bad thing to level out the field as MANY federal employees were trying to move out of the ministries and into the Abu Dhabi govt departments.
The article clearly states that the lowest-grade government workers will see their basic pay rise from Dh1,175 to Dh2,000.
How many Emiratis do you know that work at the lowest grade job? Do you know the kind of income they need to feed their families? This increase is a welcome change. However some need it more than others.
You have the right to be peeved. I would be grumpy too if I was excluded from a company-wide salary increase.
You are free to speak your mind but you are sadly mistaken to believe that all expats are hard-working and all Emiratis are lazy/ineffective/unprofessional.
Time for me to go since I need to catch up on drinking 70% more tea and 70% more sleep.
A blessed hard-working Emirati.
well I think you should work out in your country if you think its unfair to federal employers
and by the way saying "my hard-working Emirati colleagues have been blessed already it seems, as they'll be receiving an enormous pay increase - without having to do any extra work to get it! Seeing as it's doubtful whether they do any work anyway"
who are you or in what position you are to judge people work or not ??
why are you angry...it seems like your angry...u have no reason to be angry cause u have no right to this money
unfortunately expats (<=> foreigners) always find something to bitch about when it comes to the UAE.
thats not from me but i think the same although i'm expat myself.
here are my comments regarding your post:
"hold the wrong passport">>>
get out if you're fed up of UAE.
i'm from the west and even if i'm a master when it comes to criticism thanks to my french background i don't do it when it comes to UAE.
for one reason only: i'm not emirati citizen.
moreover that's my choice to "spend some time" here. so i should act as a guest and thank uae for its so generous arab hospitality (hospitality, which has and will never exist in my home west)
"Emirati colleagues ..be receiving an ENORMOUS pay increase">>>
they ARE emirati. you are NOT.
so you're not able at all to give your opinion about this.
give your opinion about law/rules and so regarding your HOME country!
"Will they be drinking 70% more tea, and taking 70% more personal calls on their phones at work?..">>>
to be franc most of time i ignore this kind of comment but this ones are particularly racism and the worst racism, which can exist.
not only your comment are ridiculous but they're racist and without any reason.
uae treats expats as VIP guests, which is not the case os most of our home countries (west and for sure east).
najma douhi
Wow, so much bitterness over money. O_O;;
Just a mere light suggestion; if you do not believe that your current situation is the one which you deserve, then feel free to complain about it. However, why would you attach stereotype and loathing comments about all Emiratis like that? It's not civilized, you know? Besides, not all Emiratis are rich and oil tycoons, so please stop this vicious cycle of utterly useless wailing.
Respect to hard workers, both Emiratis and Expats.
well I think you should work out in your country if you think its unfair to federal employers
.........
His highness CAN'T do this, you know WHY?
Cause in his own country he's actually NOTHING, even a cup of tea or a jardiniere may be worth more than him. If he still had been in his country, he would have been hummm a bag carrier, a taxi driver, a grocer..etc.
But he's a DECENT English TEACHER in the sucky UAE that he awlayz bitches about!!
Why would he think of leaving when the UAE has made a worthy out of him? and when he gets paid > 20k a month. A sum that he can't even dream of if he was in ....
You teach at a college you say??
If in ENgland, you wouldn't be allowed even to teach the KG. And you know this.
But you are in the UAE, you speak english, you are English or American, hence, good job (regardless of whether you have experice/gooddegree or not) with a high salary.
I have English co-workers who don't know ther arses from their elbows, those who back home were ex-taxi drivers, ex-babaysitters, ex-clerks, and my country pays them double or rather TRIPLE of my salary just cause they are Ajaneb (foreigners) as we say, regardless of the fact that my degree is waay better than theirs, I'm even not sure if they do have a college degrees, some are even 19and 18 yrs old who haven't yet study at college! Can ya imagine?
You cannot even read. What a worthless peice of s**T you are!!
Najma, while I agree that expats bitch too much about the UAE, in your case your ethnic background overshadows your western background. In other words, your desire to offer constructive criticism is shadowed by your desire to be a brown-noser, so that you can be in the "good books" here. Not surprising for many people of your background.
Understanding both sides I must admit that in the U.S (my home country) this would be considered illegal discrimination to a certain extent...nonetheless, this isn't my home country and frankly when it comes to the Sheik taking care of his people I applaud his efforts to the fullest degree. Per capita, if we would focus on local affairs more than international priorities, we would be able to provide in the same manner as the local Emiratis. It's unfair to condemn a complete demographic and convict them to being worthless. Calm down and think about what your posting before you post it kind sir.
Preston
The reasoning behind the 70% payrise is quite clear. If you look after your own people and pay them way above their worth, they will not hassle you (the governors of the country) for silly things like democracy or human rights.
In effect, you buy them off. Everybody knows this approach, it's known as 'bread and circuses' in other countries. Except here in the UAE they can afford to put icing on the bread and lavish it with cherries too!
Englishteacher365,
You are also quick to attempt to quash and censor the views of others (you would make a great tyrant !). I an Emirati work hard, and many Emiratis like me also work hard.
I would like to see how you handle my job, working in the desert 2 months at a time ?
Lazy Emiratis ? That certainly didnt come out of your mouth, what other holes could emit such nonsense?
I just came to say that you are absolutely unreservedly unconditionally free to leave if you don't like it.
it took me a whole minute to calm down and get back to my senses after reading your post englishteacher and that my dear is a very rare phenomena. Good job writing a hatred filled sensationalist article! it has obviously served its purpose of evoking extreme negative responses.
now moving to my actual comment. What in the world is wrong with your head? i dont even know where to start pointing out how juvenile and biased your point of view is!
first of all, i'm an emarati girl who has grown up watching my grandfather sweat it out, working countless hours to support his family prior to the oil boom followed by watching my father bust his ass in medical school and working like a slave for more than 40 years on a barely basic salary. All this while western doctors were being paid more than double his salary just for the sake of their passports. i have to point out the fact that my father is a genius - to put it modestly - and the men who received the high wages were utter fools (one of them was later found to possess a fake degree). My dad would put in extra hours for the sake of patients while most of the other expat doctors would take hours of breaks and spend the rest of the time chatting up nurses (i have to say there were a few doctors who were exceptions). So, tell me Englishteacher, are all emiratis lazy pompous douchebags for you still are should i go on throwing cases upon cases over you that would conclude that not all emiratis, like any other nationality in this world, are all bad workers.
to put it in simple words, We deserve every bit of this salary hike (which again, isnt really a hike but rather an adjustment from the previous pay rise) and if you dont like it; i would suggest reexamining your racist attitude and beliefs OR ofcourse visiting an airline agent =)
Then again, i feel very bad when I see native citizens struggling in Saudi Arabia or Bahrain, when expats there drive big and flashy cars.
They should start such rules in other GCC countries as well, so that the poorest local there lives as comfortably as the richest expat, regardless of job, education or other superficial things
love you all
the teacher is trying to think loud, and make a wish for santa it comes once a year so, let him wish and we will say amen.
Incredible... just read this fascinating post and the link to the national. I left abu dhabi in july of this year after 1.5 years in the uae. this really takes the cake. the uae is the ultimate handout nation, gifting their citizens cash for doing nothing. the problem is, the government are creating a monster, as they are swiftly cementing their place as one of the most unproductive and unimaginative societies on the planet. there is no such thing as entrepreneurship or a start-up in the uae. not sad to be gone from there, at all...
EnglishTeacher,
I don't blame you for what you wrote. I blame our government for letting ungrateful people like you in our country.
Worse, they let you poison the minds of our children too.
Oh may........!
Wait I forgot to "Hahahaha" LAUGH! Your jealousy and bitterness is reflected in your post.
Your entitled to voice your opinion of the news, (not sure if it is credible though, I need to check) BUT you have no rights what so ever to insult us.
I actually feel sorry for you to have to endure so much hate! Yes hate, a sane mind will never generalize like you did in your little post.
I'm not going to ask you to leave if you don't like it here, I don't want you to be traumatized and have to suffer.. or hate on your own country! Because I'm sure you will not have the same lifestyle you have here, or even survive back in your home country.. Too bad...
This is not to all expats, but expectational people like your who are ungrateful and will always bite the hands that fed them...and yeah people like you will not change, even communication is simply a waste of time.
Keep on the hate and the jealousy coming, and yeah.. Cowardly hide behind your little nickname in blog sphere.
Emirati, you said "This country is ours, these resources are ours. Everything from Liwa to Ras Al Khaimah is the full property and right of the Emirati people.
Everything."
But that's bullshit....Nothing is your's, not one single bit of the property you mentioned belongs to you. Everything belongs to the ruling family of the UAE, and they can give it to whomsoever they please.
So, all you Emirati citizens are at the mercy of your rulers, if they like you they will give you a very small pittance of what they make; if they don't like you, you won't even get to smell their shit.
To be honest I dont get this bitterness from both sides. Just as it is ridiculous to say Emiratis dont work hard, when so many of them do, I dont understand why so many people believe that some workers deserve 70% more than others doing the same job...
Shouldnt smart and hard working people be rewarded irrespective of their background ? Al Ain Rose complains of undeserving expats being overpaid. She is right, but shouldnt that mean that deserving expats should get good salaries while undeserving expats shouldn't?
Preston, I don't know how is it a discrimination when both Emiratis and expatriates working in the federal government got the same increase?
"But that's bullshit....Nothing is your's, not one single bit of the property you mentioned belongs to you. Everything belongs to the ruling family of the UAE, and they can give it to whomsoever they please.
So, all you Emirati citizens are at the mercy of your rulers, if they like you they will give you a very small pittance of what they make; if they don't like you, you won't even get to smell their shit."
Listen backward 3rd world hole friend. When Shakhbut (Brother of Sheikh zayed RA) Decided to hoard the money of the state together, we toppled him. When we are not given what we deserve, we protest and we speak out freely. No one can do to us what your tyrant rulers have done to you. The Emirati people have not tolerated historically and will not tolerate such misrule.
The Royal families are the ADMINISTRATORS and not the OWNERS of the country. Their responsibility is to run the country, not to own it. The oil wealth when sold goes to the ministry of economy and finance. This ministry spends the money for government expenditures, and then whatever is left goes into the ADIA fund. The Sheikhs gets their money from their private buisnesses. So therefore the oil money is not touched.
Good Lord, Emirati, do you really believe all that drivel you've written??
You said "When Shakhbut (Brother of Sheikh zayed RA) Decided to hoard the money of the state together, we toppled him."
No, dumbass, you didn't topple him, it was Sheikh Zayed and a group of shuyukh that did him away. Much the same way that Sheikh Saeed captured Deira on the night of Sheikh Rashid's wedding.
You go on to say "The Royal families are the ADMINISTRATORS and not the OWNERS of the country." Tell that to Sheikh Mo, who has indebted Dubai to the tune of billions of dollars and then held out his hand for a bailout from Abu Dhabi. If Sheikh Mo is the administrator of Dubai, he's done a real piss-poor job at it, hasn't he??
And you say "When we are not given what we deserve, we protest and we speak out freely." What a silly statement you've made. When have the Emiratis ever protested?? You are all so shit scared of your secret police and your CID that you dare not say a word against the shuyukh even to your friends, let alone speak out publicly.
Get a life, Emirati.......Get yourself checked by a psychologist before it's too late.
And they say there is no freedom of expression in the UAE too.
yet everyone gets to whine in their own Speaker's corner online.
I am an expat and I agree that if locals get a 70 per cent raise, it might bring them on par with the western expats who were very highly paid in the first place. That is more democratic :-)
A simple question - if you were in your own country, would you grumble if your government gave you a 70 percent raise so that you could buy some more Land Cruisers????
Nice job ET..
PE, yes, you're correct, I know long term expat employees with the Fed who received significant pay raise in '08. Not sure if it was 70or 50% but a significant raise for sure.
sorry, correction, the pay raise was effective some time in 09.
I really wish people, and especially those that are a part of the admin, wouldn't take sides to appease anybody.
Also, it's quite interesting to see a group's continued demo of allegiance to the UAE, which is all well & good virtually. But, appearances can be disguising. I only hope this same group would maintain a ditto enthusiastic allegiance when push comes to shove their way.
Anon, a point very well made.
While their allegiane may not be questioned, it is generally well known that many of them whine and moan about things here, but only in private. In public, they often(as we saw in the comment from the "Frenchwoman of Arab origin" c here), to go overboard in their brown-nosing and in attacking other expats. The image they project is: "We will never criticise anything here because we love this place and because we are better than other expats", which is simply not true in most cases
It is high time the Government finally realised that levelling the playing field for national job seekers would be beneficial for all sides. The Government would be less of a nanny state concerned with securing jobs for its nationals, allowing them instead to find their own way. The foreign investor would benefit from having local market expertise, and UAE nationals would be trained in valuable skills. The 70 per cent hike in salaries has just made it that much more difficult for the private sector to hire nationals.
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100103/OPINION/701029964/0/BUSINESS
Mr Sultan Al Qasesemi does talk some sense, and best thing is his critics wont be able to say "If you dont like it, just leave" !
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