Readers feel salary increases are slowing down

Dubai: Following a recent report stating that salaries in the private sector in the UAE had slowed since the start of the economic downturn, Gulf News asked readers if they have witnessed a decrease in salary hikes over the past two to three years.

Most readers felt that there does seem to be a decrease in the rises, especially for those working in the private sector. Ajeet Kumar is a wealth manager working for Abu Dhabi Central Bank. He started to notice changes in the banking sector's average salaries about two and a half years ago. He said: "The confidence of the market kept growing but monetarywise we experienced no growth." He believes, the decrease is a general problem across the banking sector.

The Towers Watson survey revealed that the average salary increase across the UAE in 2010 was merely 4,6 per cent compared to 8,7 per cent in 2008.

In some cases there has been a cut rather than a raise in pay. Irine Quiblatin has recently received a message explaining that Bigipec Performance Centre, where she works as a secretary, has been forced to cut her monthly salary by Dh500. It is a decrease that has a huge impact on her life. "It makes it hard to pay for my home and children, especially now when the water and electricity costs are increasing," she said. However, Quiblatin said that she accepts the new realities.

The slowing down of pay and its impact is not confined to employees, employers face the consequences, too. As a general manager for the young company Automanzil, Norbert Wirth has to employ staff. Over the past couple of years he has experienced a significant change in the type of people his company is employing.

"Two years ago we would search for people with ripe experience," he said. But today, being forced to cut down on allowances, they are searching for less experienced staff.

"We are generally looking for young single people," Wirth said. Automanzil has been forced to think twice before employing people who are married with children.