Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah recently ordered a 15-percent increase in the basic salaries of Saudis working for the government as a cost-of-living allowance. It also established a minimum wage for public employees and paid out a one-time bonus. Foreign state workers, such as employees in public hospitals, have been wondering if any of the benefits would be extended to them.
The newspaper said the ministry sent cables to all government ministries and departments to pay their foreign employees the allowance ordered by the king until the end of their current contracts.
The ministry said the salaries for foreign workers in the new contracts would be according to prevailing rules and regulations. It added that the royal directives regarding the cost-of-living allowance and the minimum wages should be implemented in letter and spirit.
The ministry asked all government bodies whose salary scales were not within those established by the government to correct them immediately and to add the 15 percent cost-of-living allowance.
Shoura Council member Zain Al-Abideen Berri described the decision as “very wise” and said the high costs of living and incredible hikes in house rents were not limited to Saudis alone.
“The term (current contracts) used by the ministry means the amount of money the employee gets without other allowances such as transport allowance and others that foreigners are paid, which are less than what Saudis get,” he explained.
Employees in the private sector, Saudi and foreign alike, have not been included in the royal decree. Some private-sector employers have followed suit, either by applying all or a portion of the bonuses to all employees or to just Saudi employees.
However the implementation of these salary bumps were optional in the private sector.
The SR3,000 a month minimum wage only applies to workers in the public sector. The government is the largest employer of Saudi citizens.
Meanwhile Al-Madinah newspaper said Friday that Saudis working in the medical sector would have a new salary scale, including doctors and technicians. It said the Health Services Board and the Ministry of Labor were working on the new scale.
“The move is aimed at boosting the salaries of Saudi employees in this sector and to remove all obstacles that may impede them joining it,” it said.
