Before introducing my latest topic, I'd like to send out a Happy National & Liberation Day to all Kuwaitis and to all who consider Kuwait their home.
As the topic of this article suggests, and as many people in the GCC have noticed in the past few months there has been a steady increase in costs in the region. Some people suggest it is due to the dollar falling and the rising cost of living.
As such, the Kuwaiti government and parliament are planning to increase all Kuwaiti and Non-Kuwaiti salaries to help with this inflation. Of course, I am very happy and proud they have come to this decision. I know a lot of families who DON'T have loans, and outstanding bills who are still suffering because of this inflation.
That said, I was flipping through a Kuwaiti newspaper (URL:http://www.alqabas.com.kw/Final/NewspaperWebsite/NewspaperPublic/ArticlePage.aspx?ArticleID=364209 ) the other day and on the cover there was an article stating that Kuwait's Finance Minister has declared that Kuwaiti salaries are the highest in the GCC. I was shocked, because I know for a fact that my friends in the GCC make more money than I do regardless of experience or not. The Finance Minister announced that the information he has provided was received from Kuwait's Civil Service Commission.
I especially liked the part when the Finance Minister announced that Kuwaiti civilians receive many complimentary services as well as services that are partly supported by the country, that we should work hard, and by so doing, our country will reep the benefits.
I hope the Finance minister was only talking about the Kuwaiti males in this country, because as far as I know, single or married Kuwaiti females only benefit from free health care (which I would NEVER use unless as an emergency), free education for their kids, and the extra $665 - $840 (depends on their salary) they get a month from the government.
Whereas, males (it differentiates from single to married but I am going to list all their benefits) get the same $665-$840 range, plus an additional x number of dollars for being married, plus x number of dollars for rent, plus $14,000 if they marry a Kuwaiti female (half of which is a gift and the othe rhalf an interst free loan), $175,000 interest free loan if they want to buy a house, plus free education for their kids, and on and on and on.
I for one do not use the free health care beneft unless in emergencies, because of several reasons but mainly because of their lack of efficiency and organization. I'm single so I do not benefit from the free education. In total, the only benefit I get is the extra $665/month.
In contrast, Bayt.com also released a study declaring UAE and Qatari employees are the highest paid out of all GCC countries. Bayt.com created an online survey in conjunction with market research specialists YouGovSiraj, and polled 15,000 employees in the six GCC countries across 20 industry sectors, including automotive, finance, advertising, IT and pharmaceuticals.
For more information on the study and the study itself click on the link below:
http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20080226033039/lok033000080226?weeklynewslettertext
I also know of a Kuwaiti company that did a survey of GCC salaries a couple of years back, and noticed that their staff were being paid far less than the average GCC employee in their sector. As a result, they increased all employee salaries as they believed appropriate.
With both sides provided, I ask you, who are we supposed to believe? If you look at Bayt.com's survey you might be inclined to not support either just as I have. I'm going with my gut instinct, which is that Kuwaiti are not the highest paid in the GCC. I would also trust in Bayt.com's results more than I would trust the Kuwait's Civil Service Commission, especially since the Finance Minister did not specifically say the information provided was up to date. The information could have been months or even years old.
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3 comments:
you are right to go with the zawya.come survey.. i do not know how an official in such high rank post makes such false claims.. i personally just had a friend from UAE visiting me in Kuwait. he told me that he makes about 2800 KD in the gov. sector (freshly graduated, worked couple or yrs with his diploma), which is way more than what im being paid keeping in mind we carry the same engineering degree with me having a bit more experience than he is (and a typically better engineering specialization :P) ..
in kuwait to be paid 2800 KD you have to be a manager and above..
as for the services, males typically gets paid the rental allowance and the social allowance instead of females because traditionally, as in Islamic believes, Males are the ones who are responsible of providing the needs of their homes. women although working and everythig have all the rights not to chip in a single fils from her own money in the house. so thats basically why.
as for the services the government gives, well we cant complain there. bcoz we're getting some amenities that are unheard of in other parts of the world. like the dirt cheap water and electricity. o as a FAMILY you get to have a house (theoretically at least)plus the 70,000 KD which a man can never acquire without getting married first. so if you say that as a single woman you are not making use of many of the governmental services then so do i as single man ..
With regards to the additional complimentary services we get from the government. You are right AQ, but this proves my point. DON'T generalize that we are getting so many benefits when it's only involved MARRIED MEN, and DON'T generalize that we have the highest salaries when you don't updated proof. Did you see the show they had on KTV1 yesterday regarding this issue? It was very interesting.
i agree its just that for the services you mentioned, men also dont get it unless they are married and since gay marriage is not allowed in Kuwait, then men dont get to enjoy these benefits unless they are bond to a woman or better yet women :P. as for why do men in particular get these benefits and not women since it'll be spent on the family anyway. then you need to go back and debate why are men "qawwamoon" in the first place. Plus, in our religion as well as in our laws women by no mean are obliged to spend any of their money be it salary inheritances on the family, so giving them these advantages would make them by law obliged to do things they do not have to do in the first place, which i see as a disadvantage rather than an adv.
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