# Basic salary aligned with Nationality



## crt454 (Sep 3, 2012)

To be honest, yet no offense intended, is that wages should be high or low depending on nationality. 

A 35% increase over to what you were making in your home country prior to the move to Dubai is sufficient, I'm referring to basic salaries only.

The costs and standard of living in the west is much more higher then it is in some Asian countries(Philippines,India,Nepal,Sri Lanka,and so forth) I know i may expect some backlash from this thread, but that's just my opinion


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## uberkoen (Sep 12, 2013)

crt454 said:


> To be honest, yet no offense intended, is that wages should be high or low depending on nationality.
> 
> A 35% increase over to what you were making in your home country prior to the move to Dubai is sufficient, I'm referring to basic salaries only.
> 
> The costs and standard of living in the west is much more higher then it is in some Asian countries(Philippines,India,Nepal,Sri Lanka,and so forth) I know i may expect some backlash from this thread, but that's just my opinion


That's a bit silly. What difference does it make what the cost of living in your home country is? Are you working in your home country? I would take a 70% pay cut and work from my home country without batting an eye lash but I'm living in Dubai and what should be taken into consideration is the cost of living in Dubai.

Two people doing the same job should be paid the same amount of money regardless of where they come from.


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## Bigjimbo (Oct 28, 2010)

crt454 said:


> To be honest, yet no offense intended, is that wages should be high or low depending on nationality.
> 
> A 35% increase over to what you were making in your home country prior to the move to Dubai is sufficient, I'm referring to basic salaries only.
> 
> The costs and standard of living in the west is much more higher then it is in some Asian countries(Philippines,India,Nepal,Sri Lanka,and so forth) I know i may expect some backlash from this thread, but that's just my opinion


The grammar and standard of sentence construction is much higher in some individuals from the countries mentioned, then from the West. 

I am not expecting a backlash. This is not an opinion.

Your point has no point.


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## crt454 (Sep 3, 2012)

Bigjimbo said:


> The grammar and standard of sentence construction is much higher in some individuals from the countries mentioned, then from the West.
> 
> I am not expecting a backlash. This is not an opinion.
> 
> Your point has no point.


I'm not writing an essay for a thesis, so stick to the subject of the thread instead professor.


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## LesFroggitts (Dec 30, 2013)

crt454 said:


> To be honest, yet no offense intended, is that wages should be high or low depending on nationality.


Don't take this the wrong way - a legitimate question here... Is English not your first language? You're not really asking a question here other than the start of the appropriate element of the sentence beginning with 'is' but the rest of the structure does not follow how it should be.

This is why you got pounced on by BJ and if you were to 'read between the lines' of that reply you would actually see that BJ has given you a reason why certain nationalities may well achieve higher incomes over others.


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

I'm not sure why you posted this.

Salaries for western expats are high because they have to compete with the higher wages found in the West as well as the high cost of maintaining a lifestyle comparable to middle class Western standards in Dubai.

But that should not mean people from non-Western countries should automatically be offered lower salaries. There are many people from non-Western countries (more than the Western expat population) who also command high salaries because of their experience and capabilities. Are you implying their salaries should be cut because the average wages in India or Pakistan or Jordan is much lower than in the UK or the US or Australia? It is no cheaper for highly educated/paid South Asian expats to live in Dubai than Western expats (except possibly school fees as they do have a broader range of schools to pick from). 



crt454 said:


> To be honest, yet no offense intended, is that wages should be high or low depending on nationality.
> 
> A 35% increase over to what you were making in your home country prior to the move to Dubai is sufficient, I'm referring to basic salaries only.
> 
> The costs and standard of living in the west is much more higher then it is in some Asian countries(Philippines,India,Nepal,Sri Lanka,and so forth) I know i may expect some backlash from this thread, but that's just my opinion


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## crt454 (Sep 3, 2012)

I'm not here to play the race card, please stick to the thread topic and not my grammar for crying out loud, Leave your ignorance elsewhere, just give your reason if you agree or not and why.


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## Bigjimbo (Oct 28, 2010)

crt454 said:


> I'm not here to play the race card, please stick to the thread topic and not my grammar for crying out loud, Leave your ignorance elsewhere, just give your reason if you agree or not and why.



"Leave your ignorance elsewhere" 

Fighting fire with fire, or perhaps nonsense with nonsense. 

Impossible to agree or disagree since no point has been made, or barely even alluded to.


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## LesFroggitts (Dec 30, 2013)

crt454 said:


> I'm not here to play the race card, please stick to the thread topic and not my grammar for crying out loud, Leave your ignorance elsewhere, just give your reason if you agree or not and why.


In that case...

Basic salary aligned with Nationality = *YES*, but I'm happy to leave you ignorant as to my reasoning.


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

uberkoen said:


> What difference does it make what the cost of living in your home country is?.


If you want me as an individual, I'm not taking a pay cut to work in India (as an example) because the cost of living is lower in India. You'll pay me more as I'm not a charity. Salary is not related to cost of living no matter how much public sector workers think it should be with cost of living increases every year (or did until recently). A salary is what you are worth.

Its as simple as that.


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## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

twowheelsgood said:


> A salary is what you are worth.
> 
> Its as simple as that.


I dunno, I've met a few c-suite executives over the years that have left my head scratching.


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

Mr Rossi said:


> I dunno, I've met a few c-suite executives over the years that have left my head scratching.


I know what you mean but their view would be that you aren't competent to judge as you don't understand what their actual responsibilities are and you only see part of their roles.

The point is that salary is exactly what you are worth to the other party and not an embittered employee who thinks they could do the job easily


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## uberkoen (Sep 12, 2013)

twowheelsgood said:


> If you want me as an individual, I'm not taking a pay cut to work in India (as an example) because the cost of living is lower in India. You'll pay me more as I'm not a charity. Salary is not related to cost of living no matter how much public sector workers think it should be with cost of living increases every year (or did until recently). A salary is what you are worth.
> 
> Its as simple as that.


I agree with you to a certain extent. I mean, cost of living obviously has an impact on the total salary amount. For example, if you're paid the same amount in India that you are in Dubai and with everything else remaining the same your net monthly saving will be a lot more since utilities, rents and groceries are much cheaper in India.

Hence when moving to India an individual (not necessarily you) might be willing to take a pay cut if the standard of living remains the same but net monthly savings are still increased.


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## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

twowheelsgood said:


> I know what you mean but their view would be that you aren't competent to judge as you don't understand what their actual responsibilities are and you only see part of their roles.


True, though my own formula is Demand x Skill Set x Ability to play the game = your salary.

You can excel in one that may over ride some deficiency in the other. Which explains why a person with a good understanding of how the career ladder works can find themselves in a position they're lacking the skills for. At the same time I've seen some amazing creatives not progress because they're just not assertive enough or aware of their worth.

But the reality is, you need a semblance of all three in the end. I don't deny there is a pattern in the region regarding nationalities (and the deck is stacked for some) but I think that's a by-product not the true root cause.


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## crt454 (Sep 3, 2012)

twowheelsgood said:


> If you want me as an individual, I'm not taking a pay cut to work in India (as an example) because the cost of living is lower in India. You'll pay me more as I'm not a charity. Salary is not related to cost of living no matter how much public sector workers think it should be with cost of living increases every year (or did until recently). A salary is what you are worth.
> 
> Its as simple as that.


I agree with you and respect your post,

Yet as far as housing,schooling for kids,medical ,airfare etc...i think should be even for all, yet the basic salary should be increased for first world countries as the standard of living is more there and also the taxes in Europe and Canada is another reason why some take up positions here,as the end of service benefits will be based off the basic salary and not the allowances as per the labor law.


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## LesFroggitts (Dec 30, 2013)

crt454 said:


> I agree with you and respect your post,
> 
> Yet as far as housing,schooling for kids,medical ,airfare etc...i think should be even for all, yet the basic salary should be increased for first world countries as the standard of living is more there and also the taxes in Europe and Canada is another reason why some take up positions here,as the end of service benefits will be based off the basic salary and not the allowances as per the labor law.


If everything was globally standardised to 'level the playing field' then what would be the point of going overseas to earn/save more.


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## crt454 (Sep 3, 2012)

TallyHo said:


> I'm not sure why you posted this.
> 
> Salaries for western expats are high because they have to compete with the higher wages found in the West as well as the high cost of maintaining a lifestyle comparable to middle class Western standards in Dubai.
> 
> But that should not mean people from non-Western countries should automatically be offered lower salaries. There are many people from non-Western countries (more than the Western expat population) who also command high salaries because of their experience and capabilities. Are you implying their salaries should be cut because the average wages in India or Pakistan or Jordan is much lower than in the UK or the US or Australia? It is no cheaper for highly educated/paid South Asian expats to live in Dubai than Western expats (except possibly school fees as they do have a broader range of schools to pick from).



I'm referring to the cost of living in his/her home country, not in Dubai.


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

You'd be surprised by how difficult it would be to maintain the same standard of living in a place like India (compared to Dubai) and still have higher net savings.

This is from the perspective of an overseas expat coming from the West, of course. A proper international school is still very expensive. Comparable housing in Mumbai or Delhi (well-maintained villa or apartment in a comparable area) is still very expensive. Some of your food costs might go down, but imported foods is still expensive. Even dining out won't necessarily be cheaper if you go to better restaurants. And you have other expenditures to pay for that you don't in Dubai, such as security. Plus there's taxes. 

That's why places like Lagos or Nigeria often top the lists of the most expensive places for expats - despite being cheap countries with very low cost of living for its population, the cost for maintaining a safe Western lifestyle is very, very high. 



uberkoen said:


> I agree with you to a certain extent. I mean, cost of living obviously has an impact on the total salary amount. For example, if you're paid the same amount in India that you are in Dubai and with everything else remaining the same your net monthly saving will be a lot more since utilities, rents and groceries are much cheaper in India.
> 
> Hence when moving to India an individual (not necessarily you) might be willing to take a pay cut if the standard of living remains the same but net monthly savings are still increased.


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## uberkoen (Sep 12, 2013)

TallyHo said:


> You'd be surprised by how difficult it would be to maintain the same standard of living in a place like India (compared to Dubai) and still have higher net savings.
> 
> This is from the perspective of an overseas expat coming from the West, of course. A proper international school is still very expensive. Comparable housing in Mumbai or Delhi (well-maintained villa or apartment in a comparable area) is still very expensive. Some of your food costs might go down, but imported foods is still expensive. Even dining out won't necessarily be cheaper if you go to better restaurants. And you have other expenditures to pay for that you don't in Dubai, such as security. Plus there's taxes.
> 
> That's why places like Lagos or Nigeria often top the lists of the most expensive places for expats - despite being cheap countries with very low cost of living for its population, the cost for maintaining a safe Western lifestyle is very, very high.


I completely understand what you're saying. I was just making a point that cost of living is an important factor in your salary along with your net monthly savings and your current lifestyle.

Point being one wouldn't move to an expensive place just in order to get a 35% hike in salary if cost of living in that place (taking everything into consideration) were say 50% higher because then this person would be saving less.

Similarly, in some cases a person may be willing to take a pay cut because he/she is able to maintain their life style and save more even on the reduced salary.

I just used India as an arbitrary example.


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

So?

Just because average wages are lower in their home countries doesn't mean diddly squat. 

The cost of living in Dubai is much higher, so wages have to be high to justify moving here.

And you're not taking into account that places like India or Pakistan are much more socioeconomically diverse places compared to the West. You can't force an Indian banker to compare his salary to the typical Indian labourer. The banker likely has a high cost lifestyle in India as well. Housing, schooling, transportation, etc can still cost quite a bit if you want to maintain a "Western" lifestyle. 



crt454 said:


> I'm referring to the cost of living in his/her home country, not in Dubai.


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

_Point being one wouldn't move to an expensive place just in order to get a 35% hike in salary if cost of living in that place (taking everything into consideration) were say 50% higher because then this person would be saving less._

That I agree with. 

_Similarly, in some cases a person may be willing to take a pay cut because he/she is able to maintain their life style and save more even on the reduced salary._

If this is possible then go for it. But I suspect the feasibility of this is rarer than you might think. It will come down to what one means by lifestyle.


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## crt454 (Sep 3, 2012)

TallyHo said:


> So?
> 
> Just because average wages are lower in their home countries doesn't mean diddly squat.
> 
> ...


If you read post #15 and my initial post i was referring to"basic salary only" housing,transport,medical,school should be the same for all, is what i wrote,anyhow you do have a valid point.


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## Fat Bhoy Tim (Feb 28, 2013)

crt454 said:


> If you read post #15 and my initial post i was referring to"basic salary only" housing,transport,medical,school should be the same for all, is what i wrote,anyhow you do have a valid point.


I really don't care what someone on the subcontinent earns, or what they're willing to accept here. I'm worth what I decide I'm worth, and if I want to accept less - which I do - it's also a damn sight more than what Asians would settled for.


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