The United Arab Emirates has become the latest Gulf state to
boost public sector salaries, announcing pay rises of up to 100 per cent next
year and a Dh10bn ($2.7bn) fund to help indebted citizens. A royal decree issued by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan,
the president, on Wednesday, to coincide with celebrations of UAE national day,
said the additional funds were being distributed out of a "keenness to
achieve the welfare of the citizens and help them get their ambitions in a
stable and comfortable life". Gulf states have responded to social unrest across the Arab
world with a mixture of tough policing and generous social spending. Saudi Arabia led the way with an economic stimulus package
worth an estimated $130bn, and the six-member Gulf Co-operation Council
promised to invest a total of $20bn in Oman and Bahrain, the two Gulf countries
hit hardest by the unrest and lacking the financial firepower of oil-rich
neighbours.
Qatar, which like the UAE has seen no public protests this
year, announced pay rises of 50-120 per cent for public sector employees in
September. In both countries at least 80 per cent of citizens are employed by
the state. Economists have warned that the spending packages harm the
competitiveness of Gulf nationals in the employment market and contribute to a
culture of dependency.
Sheikh Khalifa's set of decrees came in the run-up to the
UAE's national day celebrations due this Friday, which will mark the 40th
anniversary of the country's founding in 1971.
Employees of the federal judicial authority, as well as the
ministry of health and teachers at the ministry of education, will receive the
full 100 per cent pay rise, according to a statement carried by the state news
agency. Other federal employees are to receive raises starting from 35 per
cent.
Earlier in the week, the UAE president ordered the release
of hundreds of prisoners, including five political activists jailed in a
controversial trial, through royal pardons which were also issued in connection
with national day.
The decrees issued on Wednesday included an order allowing
the children of Emirati women who married foreign men to apply for UAE
citizenship. The country has previously restricted citizenship to children with
Emirati fathers. Local activists have long called for a rethink of the policy.
