Vodafone Qatar increases (some) salaries
The Peninsula reported earlier this week that Vodafone Qatar is giving Qatari employees a 60% pay increase.
Vodafone Qatar has responded with the national leadership’s generosity and concern for the Qatari people by following the trend of increasing up to 60 percent of the salaries of its homegrown employees.
“Vodafone Qatar has recognised the genuine and deepest intent shown by the Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and the Heir Apparent H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to promote the welfare of all Qatari citizens. As such, Vodafone Qatar wants to provide our valued Qatari employees with the best for them and their family,” said Richard Daly, CEO, Vodafone Qatar....
I know what you are saying Genesis, and I really have no opinion about how the Qatari Government wants to spend it's money. But the case of Vodafone is really quite different. It is a for-profit company. So picking up the extra cost for a salary rise (one that is not based on anything merit or productivity related, but just done as a token gesture so that nationals don't quit and get a job at QP or QG) has to be found somewhere. It will come from people subscribing to their phone service (inflation)It will come from shareholders (and heaven knows the Qatari sharemarket has suffered enough this year!)And it will come from QF, who I thought were in the business of providing charity, education, and social development, not funding salary increases for nationals in Qatar. The 50k+ salaries you mention (I would wonder just how much of the Vodafone workforce they account for) is the cost you need to pay to entice these people to Qatar. Both parties agreed to the salary. Similarly, nationals and Vodafone had agreed on their salaries also, yet here they are, being given 60% more, when no one asked for it, and no one demanded it. So if anyone is being overpaid, is it the expat, who got what he wanted when he signed the salary offer, or the national who is now being paid 60% more than what he was when he joined the company, but is doing exactly the same job?
The number of 'employed' Qataris should be less than 100.000. Unfortunately the Qatar Statistics Authority gives numbers only up to 2004. There are around 60.000 people employed in Government and 'Mixed' companies.http://www.qix.gov.qa/portal/page/portal/QIXPOC/Documents/QIX%20Knowledge%20Base/Publication/Labor%20Force%20Researches/Persons%20engaged%20by%20sectors/Source_QSA/persons_Engaged_Workers_AnBu_AE_2004.pdf
This affects nothing - way to small to have an impact.
Qataris in VFQ accounts for almost 1% of its emplyees. allow me to remind you that 49% of its shares are owned by QF. If they can afford paying off their "western" emplyees 50k+ education allowances & west bay accommodation , im sure their finances won't be affected by raising those few qataris
Is that just going to push up the costs of using Vodafone? And push down the share price? Unlike the public service, can Vodafone just expect extra money to appear from the government to pay for these unjustified salary increases for nationals? Or will the ex-pat community be funding this by paying more for their Vodafone calls?
effect inflation , pricing for day to day items will shoot up,
and it is worstly affect to ex-pats, because no changes for their salary but shoot up the cost