Residents who are considering leaving the UAE because of the high cost of living and stagnant salaries hope to be among those getting a 4.8 per cent pay rise next year, as projected by a study.
The figure comes from The Total Remuneration Study by global consulting firm Mercer and predicts that "most industries" in the Emirates will receive a pay increase in 2019 — with the strongest hike for those in the pharmaceuticals and health care sector.
But residents working in health care say their wages have not increased in almost a decade.
"We, in healthcare, haven't had a pay rise or increment for the past nine years," a senior nurse from the UK, who works for a large hospital in Abu Dhabi, wrote on The National's Facebook page.
“Instead, there have been cuts to the benefits package overall.”
She said a lack of salary increase combined with rising school fees had caused some of her colleagues to leave the UAE altogether, and a number of families being split in search of cheaper tuition fees.
“A lot of staff are still here but have sent their children home to study,” she said.
Another reader claimed she had not received a pay rise in seven years, when she joined her current company. She has taken to spending on her credit card to fund her lifestyle.
“You cut going out for dinner and buying fancy clothes but there are some basic supplies you still need,” said the Iranian woman, 44, who has lived in the UAE for 15 years.
“You could see a difference in the inflation but this year it is unbelievably massive.”
She said the costs associated with her three pet dogs, such as food and vet bills, have rocketed.
She has repeatedly asked for a salary increase in the past five years, only to be laughed off. None of her colleagues have been given raises either.
“If it gets to a point where I cannot survive it, I won’t have any other choice than to leave. You don’t want to be here and be chased by the banks for debt,” she said.
“I have seen bad things that have happened here to senior managers who have lost their jobs and can’t pay their bills or credit card payments. I don’t want to end up in a situation like that.”
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Read more:
UAE employees can expect a 4.8 per cent pay rise next year
A fifth of UAE expatriates doubled their salary when they relocated
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The Mercer study found only 3 per cent of the companies imposed salary freezes in 2018 compared to 10 per cent in 2016.
The study found that, overall, salaries in the UAE increased by 4.5 per cent this year, with the biggest pay rise of 5 per cent awarded to those in the life sciences sector.
For next year, real wage growth (salary increase minus inflation rate) is expected to steadily rise in the region, with the life sciences, consumer goods and high-tech industries, in particular, generating more employment opportunities and salary increases, the report said.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
The specs: 2018 Peugeot 5008
Price, base / as tested: Dh99,900 / Dh134,900
Engine: 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 165hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 240Nm @ 1,400rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.8L / 100km
Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays
How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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FA CUP FINAL
Manchester City 6
(D Silva 26', Sterling 38', 81', 87', De Bruyne 61', Jesus 68')
Watford 0
Man of the match: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
MATCH INFO
Europa League semi-final, second leg
Atletico Madrid (1) v Arsenal (1)
Where: Wanda Metropolitano
When: Thursday, May 3
Live: On BeIN Sports HD
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Healthcare spending to double to $2.2 trillion rupees
Launched a 641billion-rupee federal health scheme
Allotted 200 billion rupees for the recapitalisation of state-run banks
Around 1.75 trillion rupees allotted for privatisation and stake sales in state-owned assets
UAE%20medallists%20at%20Asian%20Games%202023
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars
Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.
After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.
Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.
It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.
ENGLAND SQUAD
Joe Root (captain), Dom Sibley, Rory Burns, Dan Lawrence, Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes (wicketkeeper), Moeen Ali, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, Group B
Barcelona v Inter Milan
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
