You might have heard how employees in Saudi Arabian workplaces get different pay for the exact same job based on their passport alone. Western passport holders might earn ten times more than their just as qualified Asian country passport holder colleagues for the same amount of work. How does this effect the working environment, with such huge differences in wages between employees?
In a previous post I wrote about the workplace bullying problem in Saudi-Arabia. It was mentioned how the salary disparity between different nationalities is at least partly to blame for this unfortunate phenomenon. Read that post here: Saudi Hospitals, Bureaucracy and Bullying.
The wage system in Saudi-Arabia is completely based on the color of the employee’s passport. This goes for all companies hiring foreign staff. My experience is from the nursing field so I will talk more about that specifically.
In most countries the nursing salaries are seen as too low compared to the education level and the actual job responsibilities and duties. The salaries will however usually increase as the nurse gets more experience and training over the years. In Saudi-Arabia on the other hand the staff nurse with only two years working experience and the one with 30 years experience plus additional training to earn the same. There are no age or experience benefits and specializing in a field will only slightly increase the salary.
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The only determining factor for the salary is the passport with which the employee is applying for the job. In fact, not even nationality matters.
Take for example an Indian national who worked in Great Britain and obtained a British passport and dual nationality. He will naturally apply to work in Saudi with the British passport because of the much fatter pay check.
Some Asians (particularly Filipinos) knowing this, travel to Canada just to get the passport. According to them, it’s the easiest country to obtain a passport from in just a few years. The expats then relocate to the Middle East, applying for the job as Canadians, this way multiplying their earnings.
To illustrate the gross salary disparity, I drew up a totally fictional salary table of nurses working in Saudi-Arabia. This table is in no way based on any official documents whatsoever and is completely made-up. I honestly don’t even have the specific amounts in my knowledge. I have however during the years come to hear people talking about their salary and other’s salaries and even seen some payslips that had been left lying around in the staff room accidentally (or purposely?) to have a very generalized idea about it. There’s plenty of info available online too.
Salaries of course vary from one hospital to another and there is a difference between private hospitals and government owned, with the latter paying higher salaries.
Passport Basic salary per month Saudi riyals
Indian 2500
Filipino 3500
South African 7000
Malaysian 8000
Arabs (Lebanon, Jordan etc) 10000
Saudi 11000
European (British,German, Nordic)16000
American (Canada,Australia) 18000
So basically the lowest paid are the Asian passport holders and highest salary goes to U.S. and Canadian passport holders. This system is said to be based on the standard of living in the home country of the employees. In other words, what the money will buy the employee back home and the cost of living and the value of money in each country. It’s also said to be based on the quality of the education that western vs. Asian nurses have.
For example a Filipino earns so much in the Kingdom she’s able not only to live a very comfortable life there but also support her extended family back home and maybe even purchase a house and a car. The money the Filipino nurse earns in Saudi, although MUCH less compared to what their western colleagues are earning, will in comparison get them more back in their home countries.
On the other hand the American nurse, although she earns more than in the U.S, does not get a significant pay raise. Many are able to travel and save some money, maybe pay off loans but there is no way they could support other family members and make large purchases at the same time.
According to online sources, the starting salary for Indian nurses in their home country is 2300 rupees a month which is about 41 U.S dollars (150SAR). The maximum salary with all benefits would be around 5000 rupees, or 90 dollars. The estimated earnings of an Indian nurse in Saudi-Arabia, around 2500 to 4000 SAR is around 1000-2000 U.S dollars at the current exchange rate. That would add up to roughly 58,000 rupees. That’s a staggering difference to what they earn back home.
Filipino nurses earn approximately 5000P a month back home in the Philippines, which is about 450 SAR (120 U.S dollars). A news article from 2009 states Pinoy nurses salaries in government hospitals will be raised from 2550 to 3500SAR. If they earned the estimated 3500SAR a month in Saudi-Arabia that would be roughly 39,000P. That’s almost ten times more than what they would earn in the Philippines.
Compare this to the European nurse. Say she earns about 2400 euros at home minus taxes, leaving her with about 1600 euros a month. That’s roughly 7500 Saudi riyals, or if counted from the salary before tax cuts, 11,000. In Saudi her salary will increase about 30% from this. If the European were to get a comparative pay raise to the Asians, her salary would end up being something around 26,000 euros or 120,000SAR a month!
By doing some more maths (which I suck at btw) I discovered that the Filipino who first went to Canada to get the passport, actually literally becomes a millionaire (but only in the Philippines) by just working a few years in the Kingdom!
Another interesting aspect is how the Saudi nationals themselves get lower pay than westerners. This is very strange and seems unfair to me. Why don’t they value their own citizens more? Do they think Saudi employees are not as efficient or highly trained as the western nurses and thus don’t deserve as much pay? I have to admit I heard many nurses complaining about the laziness or lack of training of the Saudi nurses.
Even though I understand partly why they thought up this kind of system in the first place and it does have some sort of rationale behind it, it still causes a lot of tension in the workplace. At the end of the day it IS unfair to pay one employee ten times more in Saudi riyals for the same job, just because of their nationality. The difference in salary causes tension and conflicts in the working environment and can potentially cause one nationality to hold grudges and feel jealousy toward another.
So is there a solution to this salary racism? Could all employees be paid the same salary regardless of their passport color? If the wages went down significantly how would Saudi companies be able to attract western employees anymore? If employees from poorer countries started earning the same salaries as westerners in Saudi do, what would happen? An overwhelming influx of Asian employees? How about raising the Saudi’s salaries in order to motivate them more? Would making the salaries more equal make the working environments more tolerable places for all nationalities to work harmoniously in?
If these salaries are based on the cost of living back home and education levels then why do some employees get paid according to their newly obtained passports? What about a Saudi or Asian employee who trained in the west? Or a western nurse that got their education from a third world country? This system seems to have so many loopholes and other negative aspects to it that I think at least some sort of reform could certainly do good for the Saudi workplaces.
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Hello there! I’m Laura, the founder of Blue Abaya- the first travel blog in Saudi Arabia, established in 2010. Travel has always been my passion- so far I’ve visited 75 countries and I’m always on the lookout for new adventures inside and outside of Saudi Arabia! Follow my adventures in Saudi and beyond on instagram: instagram.com/blueabaya
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Great Post Laylah I know I hate it bc my husband is a Saudi yet has a American degree that seems to hold no value since hes still a Saudi at the end of the day. People doing his same job or less that hold an American degree make more. I was even offered a job bc I am an American and I do not even hold a degree in that field making almost double what he does. Its not fair at all. I think the main person getting paid should be the Saudi if they are going to have any system at all.
Noor I agree it’s sometimes completely absurd and really is not based on who is the most qualified person for the job!
Saudis should get more other benefits such as housing and schooling and transport (especially for females) allowances!
Compare to all those benefits the foreign workers get, free accommodations, transport, tickets home and back..
How can you attract people from western countries if you offer a salary who is wonderfull for asian but ridiculous for them? think about it since the cost of the life is completely different and sometime the gap is 10 time different.
Salam alaikum
Interesting post mashAllah
Noor told me about your blog
Salaam Asmaa welcome to my blog and thanks for stopping by!
My husband is Saudi and attained his PhD in Reading and ESL from the USA while on the Saudi scholarship. So in other words, KSA paid for my husband’s education. But here’s the kicker. When he returned to KSA to try to find a job in his field (this was in 1991) which was teaching English as a Second Language, he could not get a job here! Why? Because at that time, they only wanted native speakers of English. This makes absolutely no sense what-so-ever, does it? And now, there are such poor English speakers with bad accents teaching English here that the students cannot even understand the teachers. My husband’s English is perfect, yet they wouldn’t hire him back then. Some things are just so screwed up here…
Susie-that is totally screwed up! it still happens though! And funny how they are not even that specific of the nationality of the so called native speaker. For example, I was offered a job as an english teacher (I have no experience or training whatsoever) to teach at a girls school in Riyadh, for about the same pay as I get from nursing..Because I have an american accent and I’m fluent, so they are hiring people JUST for the accent. I declined because I thought it was ridiculous!
I was shocked to find among the university(!) teachers (the American and Australian passport holders) people whose previous experience was related to whatever but not teaching. One of them was spell-checking the word “writer” because she was not sure about the suffix -er or -or)) The other was persistently saying “arrive to” and confusing singular and plural. Of course, it does a lot of harm because what can be more dangerous than ignorant educators?
Hi Layla!
Nice post! I enjoyed reading it. I saw some of the links you have at the end of the article and I actually go and read news on those sites. lol
Anyway, I’m just wondering where did you get the conclusion that Filipino nurses become “millionaires” after a couple of years in KSA? Because I highly doubt they become one back there. Most of their salaries go to their families to help pay the bills or help a couple of siblings finish college (which is very expensive btw). So in short, they hardly save money for themselves. Their families’ living improve there though, but in exchange for them leaving their families.
Keep writing interesting posts Layla. :)
Dianne-I meant they become millionaires in the sense that they earns millions counted in local currency :) NOT that they can live lives of millionaires! But sure they and their families do get better life from the earnings of those relatives who relocated to Saudi.
Yeah, this is kind of sad you know. If only they get to keep the money for themselves so they could invest the money into something (some do). But for them, I guess it’s ok that they don’t get to live like millionaires from what they earn…however their consolation for that it they get to provide for their families.
You should try and interview a couple of them (not just nurses). Almost all of the news coming from KSA to PH is negative, unfortunately. I suggest you try and show both sides of their situations (good and bad). I could provide you some links regarding about the unfortunate events that Filipinos experience there. I’ll try and find some positives too. Just let me know if you’re interested.
Take care Layla! :)
@Noor
I agree, a very good post.
@Laylah
I also agree that the salary disparities could and does cause conflicts and that reform is needed. I’m not sure if there’s any magic bullet to this issue. It’s a sticky one.
I guess we’d have to look at how other countries are able to fair with regards to salaries based on education and skills no matter what one’s nationality or color of passport. But here in America, we suffer from racism on another level.
The white male (may or may not have a degree or experience) still gets paid more than the black male (having a degree), white females (having a degree) and all others following. How that math is done, I have no Idea. It boggles the mind.
Maybe they’ll all figure it out one day.
Out of curiosity, how is it in Finland? What’s the pay scale for foreign workers? Are there any differences in pay based on job?
Thanks
We have some similarity in Finland to what you are describing, but the salary differences are nothing compared to the Saudi scale!
The minimum wages are the same for every nationality, but you will find many foreigners (e.g Russians,Estonians,some of African origins) doing the lowest paid jobs and not so many Finns doing those jobs anymore. For example bus drivers, cleaners and so on.
This comment has been removed by the author.
? why was it removed?
Did not feel that the comment belongs to this discussion :)
Also, I have to learn more about the topic to be able to discuss it. However, I do remember someone telling me that the salary gap according to nationality or race is a common thing in companies. It is taught in school business and a friend told me today that it is called: Race/Ethnic wage gap.
same salary differences based on passports exist in the UAE. My husband’s cousin was a doctor and his salary was considerably less than of his western passport holders colleagues who actually graduated from the very same university as him! This Emirati doctor felt unappreciated and thought of migrating to Canada where his salary was higher than in the UAE.
My husband is negotiating salary with a Dubai company and they say the salary he’s asking is too high (for an Emirati), at the same time they pay much more to British citizens at the same position. Some say Emiratis are “cheap labor” in their own country comparing to western passport holders. Such discrimination seems unfair especially to well educated, skilled Emirati specialists.
Alice-It’s really unfair, and they should try to encourage the Emiratis/Saudis more. What they do now is almost humiliating, I mean they studied in same uni, that’s just ridiculous. Companies should look beyond the passports and look at the actual CV’s!
If foriegners could live permenently in Saudi, and eventually become citizens, there would not be this problem, and there wouldn’t be such apparant racial/national differnces in people in terms of the services they recieve from the goverment/employees.
My 2 cents. I believe there are several factors to take into account, in no particular order:
1. Should make sense economically – to provide the service without increasing the cost beyond the point they afford to support. They can afford to pay Asian nurses an attractive salary compared with the one from their own countries, but if they apply the same model to Americans they wouldn’t afford to deliver the service;
2. To give a proper signal – they want Western nurses, but they are not that desperate – they can get a good nurses for less the price of Westerners;
3. The salary should be motivating enough to make the move. This is applicable especially for Westerners;
4. There is chauvinist thinking among some of Saudis, judging people as good or bad based on their nationality. I don’t think this reason prevail, but it works there, in the background;
5. The lavish lifestyle of Saudis, which is visible all over the place. They are going to pay in a way which is allowing them to show their lavishness, but in the same time avoid being taken as desperate;
6. The preference to work by procedure: working by evaluating the nationalities it is understandable. Judging the skills and making decisions – and the decisions for money are centralized in the hands of few people – this doesn’t fit the style.
Thats the same here in Dubai, my husband gets lower sallary than European doing the same activity (hes local). Because they have the best university so your diploma will be much stronger and the cost of live there so expensive. Unable to pay 16000 to a filipino, the expenses in their country is low compared to american or european standart
Yes but what if the local went to the same school and has that exact same diploma and say more experience? He still gets less which is totally unfair!
Don’t forget that Saudis have a retirement pension at 60 years old, while the foreigners haven’t.
In public hospitals the salary of the Saudi doctors is upper (20%/25%) to the salary of the European doctors.
Nassima
Nassima-I have not heard of the European or American drs being paid less for same position as local physicians, they have the same system with doctors..
Hi there, yes what I meant with the millionaire thing is just that they would become such in their own currency, not that the person would actually be able to live the life of one..but certainly they would be better off, if we think that the average salary is 5000 a month, by which a person can live a decent lifestyle, then 1,5 million is a lot of money.
Secondly, I stated that specifically those Filipinos who are getting paid by the Canadian passport become millionaires (they earn 200,000P a month so in a year 2,4 million pesos!)
I sent a private message to you.
nassima
Good article :)
But I have to say that the laws in Canada have changed and it is no longer as easy to get citizenship here. They have started cracking down on people coming to get one then going. If you stay out of Canada for so many years, now your citizenship can be stripped. They will give you a warning first, and you have six months to return to Canada for a set time or you will lose it. A bunch of nuns and some priests have lost theirs. I think where the first. The problem with many people is that they have not been paying taxes so when then are asked to return they have huge fines to pay. Also many people who just come for the passport do not realize what is really involved in becoming Canadian. Many have unrealistic expectations of what its like to live here and how easy it is to get here. Even marrying a Canadian now does not guarantee a way into Canada depending on where they are from. This is dew to a government crack down on the lack of a better word “green card” marriages. Though this has also effected many people who are honestly married.
This Article is soo true layla .. thanks for highlighting it .. Westerners & Europeans are the highest paid people in this country whereas an Asian doing the same job for longer hours doesn’t really count .
Nice post laylah…The sad thing though is American/European nurses who get high salary are not even doing the “dirty” work coz most of them are in administrative post and the one who are on the front line are those who are less paid. No offense to other nationalities, but Filipinos are hardworking nurses so it is just NOT FAIR why there is salary racism in KSA.
You are right, for example in, a public hospital, the foreign cardiologists, who have lower salaries than Saudis, are the only ones to be on call during nights and weekends.it isn’t fair.
Nassima
Very interesting post!
At the end of the day everyone is paid more in the Kingdom than in their own countries so what’s the point? I do not see no racism here. Indian rupee’s value is not as great as euro or dollar that is why the Kingdom pay them more (but less than to Americans- very reasonable)in comparison so they can afford much more than if they were working in India. This system is actually very smart. why does everyone have to become a millionaire? Personally I would be happy to earn 50% more that I’m earning right now. I wouldn’t care if my American friend earns more because at the end of the day I earn much more than in my very own country, I can save and spend the money in my very own country. Gosh ppl are so hungry for money! If its so unbearable in the Kindom there is always a solution: going back to homeland ;)
cheers!
Salam laylah, I’m an American Muslim who is marrying an American living in ridyah… Could you give me any advice living there yourself and ways to make friends there.. I’m very nervous and excited
to be honest its mostly right . I’m a green passport holder i studied in AUS . and for whole 4 years of working i still get bad salary . i bet if i was married to one of my AUS friends and got the nationality . i would be in a different story and a way pleasant chapter .But things is done by faith and it have been written long time before i have born .
maybe i might get my hands on a great girl who will love me for who im and i will get her pleasant and she might change my whole life . who know !!?
Hussain
just pray for me !! no one knows i might have what i want Finally .
I'm very glad I found your blog. Thanks for the sensible critique. I and my friends were just preparing to do a little analysis about this. I'm very glad to see such good information being shared freely out there.
Thanks for this, very interesting. I see some similarities to Japan.
I found this blog when someone set up a Twitter account to spam me links to here. The spamming is weird but I’m happy to have found you! I love to hear stories of foreign wives all over the world, we seem to have many issues in common. Nice to know that you are a working mom too, there are so few of us in my part of the world! Kudos!
Thank you for sharing your views on this topic. I have done some traveling to the middle east and while i’ve never had any communication with those who work in the medical field I have seen the different attitudes towards various races and pay. I’m really glad to hear you speak out about this and share your perspective.
This is a good post and you have presented it very well. I am from the IT sector and an Indian national. In the US, there would not be any difference between the hourly rates that an Indian or an American would earn. If at all there is, it would be very marginal and based on the fact that the Indian is on an H1 and so would settle for slightly lesser (but not greatly lesser). You feel respected
The truth is, American nursing education is unequaled globally. They spend millions upon the system for research and innovation. Not to mention that education cost is higher in the USA than anywhere else in the world, so those nurses better make the most money cause they have more to pay off and account for back home *student loans*.
I don’t know if it’s worth it anymore to come to Canada for citizenship. I am Canadian and it will take my American husband with two masters degrees six years to get full citizenship when all is said and done. Plus, if he gets his citizenship and takes off, they’ll rescind it.
Also, I’m not sure it would be worth it to leave Canada as a nurse anymore if you’re only making 18000 SAR a month. There is a major shortage of nurses here so there are sometimes signing and renewal bonuses, provincial loan repayment programs, and starting next year, federal loan forgiveness for those who work in rural communities. The projected starting wage for nurses fresh out of school in Canada is about $50,000 – $60,000 CAD (189022 – 226826 SAR) a year in most provinces and goes up to $80,000 with experience. If you’re willing to work in a northern territory, the starting wage out of school is about $81,000 (306215 SAR) and goes up to $121,000 with experience. Northern provinces will also include signing, monthly, northern, and annual bonuses/allowances – you’d get an extra $33,600 in bonuses during your first year with more every subsequent year!
Hi,
I am an Australian citizen with a South Asian background. I’ve done my Masters in Civil Engineering from New South Wales University in Sydney. I also have few years work experience in Australia. Can I expect a higher salary in Dubai than most South Asians.
Great post! I worked at KFSH in Riyadh ten years ago and saw the pay scales. Canadians do not get the same salary as Americans. Americans are at the top, then green-card Americans, and then Canadians. I’m Canadian, by the way.
U r not right….
Unfortunately prices have crept up so badly lately in KSA, that even a European with 16,000 SAR ( for example) can send nothing home!
Thus I think it is rather contradictory: if 16,000 SAR could allow for a decent life say in the EU, there is no way that you can live and spend in KSA and from that amount send something like 5,000 SAR to your home country and consider it still represents a decent life in Europe.
An average family of (4) would need to lead a rather conservative life in KSA to spend 10,000 SAR, excluding any specialised schooling for their children.
And then, not all companies give that much for schooling, which has also flown off the scale.
Shocked to hear that Australians earn more than British. Did you know that British Nurses are highly sought after in Australia once they have completed their British training.
The high pay reflects the high quality of training, it has nothing at all to do with either colour of skin or passport.
Pays Should be based on the Experience and Qualification…
Not like racists…
I have seen Americans and Canadians, who would have been kicked out of Job in my Country are getting more than those who are better qualified but from Asian States…
Its Sad such Racism in KSA.
( I have been in Saudia for 32 years-Since Birth)
The salary you mentioned about Filipino nurses is not correct. Based on the Department of Budget and Management website of the Philippine government, the salary of a government-employed Nurse as of July 2009 are the following:
Nurse I (SG 11) – P14198 – P16335
Nurse II (SG 15) – P18282 – P21064
Nurse III (SG 17) – P20819 – P23955
Nurse IV (SG 19) – 23703 – P27251
Nurse V (SG 20) – P25295 – P29070
Nurse VI (SG 22) – P28134 – P32278
Nurse VII (SG 24) – P31334 – P35890
Please, if you will write a blog, make sure that the information are correct or you have research it well.
Yes there is difference in pay rates according to nationality and some times race its a matter of demand and supply and all the do-and-da related.. this is understandable and can be rationalized in way as you said.
but what puzzles me is; if you’re paying an american nurse 10 times the a Indian nurse with the same Job qualification, what is the added value ? blue eyes !
Hello Laylah!
What you have written is so true! My father has been working in saudi for the past 30 years as a medical doctor (general practitioner) and he gets much less pay than most Saudi and American doctors and nurses.
We are from India. It’s really very sad to see the huge amount of disparity.
Have been reading your blog for quite a while now and i also follow you on fb. But this is the first time i am writing to you. Your articles are pretty interesting and your writing is crisp and entertaining.
I was wondering if you have any knowledge about employment of doctors in the kingdom from USA?
I have an American female friend in Chicago who is a medical doctor. She has been working there for several years…..but now she would like to work in the kingdom. Do you have any idea how do doctors from USA apply for jobs in the kingdom?
Since i am an Indian…..I know that Saudi Medical teams go to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh to interview and select doctors.
But i don’t think Saudi medical selection teams go to USA.
Please if you have any American doctor friends or acquaintances, would you be kind enough to let me know the procedure to apply for medical jobs from USA, so that i can forward it to her? I will be most obliged.
Thanking you,
an avid reader of your blog
Suraiya
Aramco Team interviews doctors everywhere in Europe and North America. My wife is a doctor and Aramco matched his After-Tax Income. We might fly to KSA in a few months.
Hi I’m currently working in King Faisal as an RN in the MICU, give me contact info via email and I will put you in contact with our personnel department.
Salary of Indian nurses are not correct . It is in govt start from 20000 (almost 1500SAR ) reach to 60 K INR . after 6th pay commision salary are increase by 6 times in 2012 . MBBS Doctors salary start from 60K (4000 SAR ) now .Soeducated Indian lost interest in Saudi Jobs . Saudi Govt have to increase salary to attarct educated Indians .
[…] about the salary racism , which is one of the causes behind the workplace bullying […]
Layla,
You seem to overestimate the ease of getting Canadian Citizenship. There is a very stringent set of requirements before you can even qualify to apply. From the right skilled sector, to education, experience, police records and language proficiency exams. Provided you qualify to apply, on the average it takes 3.5 years to get the approval to emigrate. Then, it would be another 4 years of residency before they qualify for the citizenship exam, which they need to pass.
Just thought you’d ought to know :)
i think its because of currency rates… 1 SAR = .27 USD where as 1 SAR = 16 indian rupees.
it is really annoying tat for Ppl from different countries are paid different for same job. I heard Asians are paid worse than others.. is it happening in doctor field also. world knows tat Indian doctors are best across the world but less paid than others…
Slam everyone!
wallah i was just watching a video on youtube and sub7an allah i ended up in here lol. Sadly, i believe that most of what i have read so far in here is nothing but the truth! Starting from how come someone gets paid based on the passport he or she is carrying till the point that a saudi guy who went abroad, got a degree on ESL and when he came back looking for a jo. He went zero handed!!! Wallah i feel how painful and unjust that is! We need to change a lot the creepy nonsense policies which have been blindly followed by so many “decision making ppl”! We’re sick of thise outdated old guys wallah! And i’m sorry for those nonsaudi employees but even us the sons of this country we are not given much attention! And plz do not remind me of the scholarships the government is giving and still have! We need to work from the inside out not the way around!!! I happen to be one if those who returned empty handed bc i did not like what i was studying and sadly no ine gave a shit! Bottom line al7mdu lellah i did not give. I’m doing a BS in ME and am very excited and motivated But after what? 6 year time has just flushed away! I hope when i’m done and ready to join the big companies they won’t say that “oh, masha allah you have maintained a high GPA and ur English is just fine but if you were 5 yrs younger,and they give me the what-a-pitty-face” :) lets hope that senario will never happen to me ya rabb.
Just felt to drop thOse few lines guys.
A special thank you for our sis for such a great blog.
Saeed
Hi,
Thanks for this information. I was not aware that salary can be decided based upon Passport!!
Can any one tell the salary range in Information technology sector?
regards,
–Pankaj
thank you for the comment Jamila and best of luck in your plans!
I will tell you something. It is irrational to implement equal payment in GCC for all nationalities. That is pure discrimination against locals.
For instant Saudi system is based on the standard of living in the home country of the employees. In other words, what the money will buy the employee back home and the cost of living and the value of money in each country. It’s also based on the quality of the education.
A Pilipino nurse in the Philippines gets an average salary of 200 USD back home.
In Saudi a Pilipino standard salary roughly around 1000 USD. That is 5 times more than her salary back home.
Now let’s talk about buying a property in Saudi comparing to buying a property in the Philippines.
In Manila for instant buying a luxurious apartment in a central area would cost around 20,000 USD. We are talking here about a luxurious fully furnished apartment with all facilities. Buying the same luxury apartment in any place in Saudi would cost around 250,000 USD.
So basically if we talk about equality that means a nurse coming from the Philippines would be able to afford buying 4 luxurious apartments back home in 3 years having an average salary of 2500 USD as a Saudi nurse while a Saudi Nurse has to work for 9 years with the same salary to get ONE apartment in Saudi Arabia.
Is that what you call equality and is that really a solution for discrimination?!
No but I believe the minimum wage for people coming from Asian countries has to increase.
Second, the fact why private sectors prefer foreigners over locals for a simple reason.
It is much cheaper to hire an expat than a local and it has nothing to do with expertise nor technical knowledge.
A lot of our young generation are well educated and the saudi government did a great job sending hundred thousands of them for scholarships.
To hire a local, a private sector has to pay 9% each month to GOSI plus it has to pay locals end of service and medical insurance.
The ministry of labor as well requested all Saudis to be paid more than foreigners so a lot of companies in the private sector refrain to hire Saudis instead they totally manipulated the system by signing Saudis for minimum wages in the company to stay home instead of offering them a full time job with the company and the reason behind that is to get visas and Iqamas for cheaper expats which leads to more profits for the greedy companies.
@MAHAKALIJuly
Don’t you see that you’re contradicting yourself? You say that equal payment is not a good idea and then you’re saying the ministry are hiring foreigners because they’re given cheaper salary? I, as Saudi Arabian I demand equal minimum wages for locals and non-locals. Only in that way, Saudis are going to be able to find jobs in private sectors. Think about it for a while, giving equal minimum wages is going to benefit us on the long run.
I think it is based on performance/efficiency too.
There are some mentality traits that do not allow the Indians or Filipinos to do the job as efficiently as the Americans or Europeans do. Even in Europe you see the differences: the Greeks/Italians or Spanish are not as efficient and organized as the Germans or Dutch. In Asia – the Japanese vs the Chinese.
Of course everyone can obtain a degree in the West or the passport – but you cannot buy the way of thinking. I see it even with black people in the USA who though born and growing up in the States, attending the same schools as others – still have certain way of doing things their own way. Unfortunately, the employers do not reward that way.
Absolutely disgraceful and demeaning as well!!
We Indians simply do not know how to REACT,is all !
Our Ministers and Politicians keep falling over themselves to please these silly,stupid Arabs all the time.
Discrimmination at the Work Place especially, is most unhealthy to say the least whatever be the rationale advanced for paying higher wages to a White Man or Woman !!
They should raise these issues with the concerned authorities and demand action.Instead of diplomatic ettiquette and niceties all the time.In this they should take a leaf from the Isrealis.Try fooling around with any of their nationals.
Hi,
Don’t even think about re-locating to medieval Saudi.They don’t ride camels these days at least not the fat sheikhs and their umpteen children perhaps, but there’s hardly any change in their Mindset unfortunately.The KSA can be summed up as one of the bigger surviving Anachronisms today.And thanks to the West
for keeping them that way..
How true is this discrimination based on a person’s passport in Saudi Arabia at this time? This article was written over 6 years ago.
I would agree that Saudis educated overseas and returning, should be given priority in hiring process if they meet the advertised qualifications.
Same system in place at hospitals at least. there is a Saudization drive where they must hire a certain % of Saudis in order to not be fined. If they don’t reach the target goals of Saudi staff then the company will be fined. So this is really good in theory, in practice, it doesn’t always work that the Saudi employee is skilled / motivated enough for that position, and said staff member becomes a sort of “compulsory Saudi staff” just for the numbers. But this is getting slowly better with more and more people returning and opportunities are being offered.
There are reasons why western RNs earn bigger than those Asian and even Saudi nationals. Western nurses like in Canada earn bigger back in their own country than those Asians and Saudi nationals in their respective home countries. For example my biweekly salary is 3,600 to 4,500 Canadian dollars (10,125.61 SR to 12,658.08 SR) including night diff, ICU premiums and weekend diff. that’s only 2 weeks pay. I am earning 7,000 to 9,000 per month (Gross)including occasional OT ( that’s 25,310 SR per month). Just think of it, if the Saudi hospitals will give us 10,000SR/ month that would be 3,555 Canadian dollars in a month ) that’s a very big joke for Canadians.
Even if Saudi hospitals Like King Faizal and National Guard offers 15,000SR to 20,000SR to western nurses the truth is it won’t still match the money we get back home. While their Asian, and Saudi counterparts see those amount as very big and unfair but they fail to realize that it’s nothing compare to what western earn back home.
We only feel the value of money because 1. We don’t have the mandatory deductions like (tax, insurance, etc.) 2. Apartment is FREE 3. Transportation is FREE and 4 Adventure and experience the Arab culture… Those are the only reasons why western moves in Saudi.. On the other hand Asians like Malaysians and South Africans , Indians etc move in Saudi Arabia because of money!, They earn less than what the Saudi offers them.
Facts are we are not paid equally. And in my case, here in the hospital to where I’m working at, favor always goes to Saudis (always late, multiple sick leave, absences, not working at all, and they are not taking their job seriously). But the admin doesnt care because they are SAUDIS. While us, working tirelessly and taking the consequences when a Saudi suddenly did not show up on her duty. There’s a lot going on here actually, including the freedom deprivation, women oppression, ban of religion, racial discrimination, and this place lack of interest in arts, entertainment, sports, history, and tourism. One thing is for sure though, I’m done working here. I’m not going back to this rotten administration. Adios amigos!
I’m new to Saudi (arrived late 2019) and have found your blog truly helpful for traveling tips. thanks for that! I met some nurses and heard about the salary issue, felt unbelievable, and now I read your article for more details.
I also felt it’s unbelievable to find that Saudis are extremely not environmental-friendly, and also found your blog covering that too! :)
Lifestyle in each country is different than the other, I think they treat the wages with the what the employee can earn in his origin country.