10.22 AM Tuesday, 19 March 2024
  • City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
  • Dubai 05:07 06:20 12:29 15:54 18:33 19:47
19 March 2024

UAE firms to hike salaries by 5% in 2012: Survey

Published
By Staff

Companies in the UAE plan to increase employee salaries by five per cent this year, according to a new survey released today.

The Salary Budget Planning Report for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) found that salaries for UAE employees were predicted to increase by five per cent against a prevailing inflation increase of 2.1 per cent.

Employees in Saudi Arabia will see the highest increases at 6 per cent against an inflation rate for 2012 of 4.1 per cent.  Salary increases are expected to be consistent across the remaining Gulf States at 5.0 per cent- 5.5 per cent. Theses increases will feel more significant in the UAE and Bahrain, where inflation is currently running at a lower rate.

The results were revealed today at the Towers Watson Middle East HR forum held in Dubai.

The survey also revealed that high performers in the workplace will have an added advantage when it comes to salary increases, as more than 75 per cent of the companies surveyed have allocated a large portion of their 2012 budget to high performing employees.

Billy Turriff, line of business leader – Data, Surveys and Technology, Towers Watson, said, “The results of Towers Watson’s Salary Budget Planning Report clearly show that job market trends across the GCC point to a positive and steadily growing market. The last few years have been a tough one for most economies across the globe. While many markets are still grappling under the weight of the crisis, the Gulf region continues to remain a lucrative one for expansion, thus attracting talent and new investments from across the globe. Additionally, we are seeing an increase in the number of initiatives undertaken among organisations to nurture and retain local talent.”

Outside of the region, salary increases are set to be consistent across Europe’s largest economies – Germany, France, UK, Spain and Italy – at or around 3 per cent. Russian companies expect to grant salary increases of 10 per cent on average against an inflation rate for 2012 of 5.9 per cent, while South African employees will see pay increase by an average of 7.5 per cent.