Interesting...

I've never known the earth to contain "more than 200 nationalities"...

Wow, that article is funny and scary at the same time.

The other issue is why does it always have to be local vs expat? Why not everyone united vs the bloody greedy government?

Oh...

"Expatriates do jobs that UAE nationals are unqualified for or refuse to do...Instead, the private sector hires expatriates because they will do more work for less money, and the government has to create jobs for nationals in the government using oil rents or force companies in certain sectors to hire nationals."

You often hear that the private sector discriminates on the basis of national origin, i.e. they pay Western expats more, but you also hear the argument that the private sector doesn't want to hire Emiratis because they have to pay them more. Does this latter argument suggest that Emiratis are measured against South Asians and other non-Western expats in terms of what salaries they are willing to work for?

If the private sector really worked rationally, wouldn't they stop paying inflated wages to both Western expats and Emiratis?

And if there really is an unemployment problem in the UAE, shouldn't Emiratis be willing to work for less than a public-sector salary, i.e. willing to take the market rate for their skills? Or are there government regulations that say you can't hire an Emirati for less than s/he'd make in a public sector job?

I also find the use of "expatriate" interesting in the article above - seems to suggest that all expats are high-living Brits in villas who hang out at the Vu bar rather than six-to-a-room indentured labour.

Well, a few words on this.

I understand Dubaiwalla's reaction, as by ethnicity he's seen the discrimination at work.

But to understand the article, it's necessary to decompose some items:
First, of course there is the Emiratis fear that they are 'losing their own country,' which is natural and understandable, even though most expatriates and foreign labour perhaps don't quite feel it given the way the Emirates structures advantages to go so heavily towards Emiratis.

Second, there is the issue of demographic weight. Euro origin expats ("white" although they may be non-white if they're Euro/American/Aussi nationality) are fairly trivial. Resented perhaps for their quasi-untouchable status, but trivial. Sub-Con IndoPaks, another matter. No one fears the Euros staying, they won't. Others, well, esp. Pakis, might well. Same for Arab nationalities (esp. poor Arab....).

On the job market, SP is mistaking dysfunctions. The Euro "expat" is probably overpaid to an extent for "prestige" but generally does bring new skills and work methods that are probably genuinely valuable (esp. work methods, generally comparable technical skills can be had cheaper from Arabs and IndoPak nationals). The pricing on them is discriminatory to an extent, but has a market rational. The Emiratis, on the other hand have to be paid near Euro levels, for their egos, but have skill levels that are lower than either Egyptians, Levantines or IndoPak nationals. Plus motivating them is a pain, whereas the non-Nationals always have to fear their contract getting terminated. So you pay near Euro level to get crap.

And if there really is an unemployment problem in the UAE, shouldn't Emiratis be willing to work for less than a public-sector salary, i.e. willing to take the market rate for their skills?

Prestige factor and lack of economic necessity. Most Emiratis don't "need" to work in the way say an Egyptian needs to work. They will not work for less than their compatriot's salaries since they lose face in the community (all things being equal). Just step back and stop abstracting to an idealised market and look at real market incentives, the article makes perfect sense (that is where it's perspective is coming from, not it's actual argument).

Thanks for the clarifications, L. I find the prestige factor + lack of economic necessity argument interesting - isn't there a good deal of concern about unemployment among Emirati nationals? I suppose it makes sense that few would be willing to work as hard as needed in the pvt sector if the vast majority of their community/peers are getting by on less work for the same pay in the public sector, and if they feel they could get that public sector job if only they waited it out a few months. Or if social security is sufficient to keep them going.

About the khawaga expat pay issue, I've heard people argue both sides (those who say that the Western-educated really do offer different skills, need the higher pay to lure them to work in the godforsaken Gulf, have higher education and travelling expenses, etc and those who say it's a colonial hangover) and I wonder if most companies do actually have a formal or informal payscale by nationality or if the different pay-packages simply depend on what it takes to get those of different nationalities to sign on.

I'm also mildly amused by the irony of Europeans and Americans complaining about the special status granted to UAE nationals as the US and European countries hardly have a free labour market themselves, and reserve government jobs for their own nationals too...and UAE nationals huffing away about expats taking "their" jobs sound an awful lot like Joe Sixpack in America complaining that Latino migrants steal jobs from hardworking Americans by doing plumbing work for less than $60,000 a year.

I don't think you get this yet. Stop fucking thinking like a fucking idealist and think real incentives. Idealised "should" doesn't count, real incentives do.

I find the prestige factor + lack of economic necessity argument interesting - isn't there a good deal of concern about unemployment among Emirati nationals?

And so the fuck what?

I suppose it makes sense that few would be willing to work as hard as needed in the pvt sector if the vast majority of their community/peers are getting by on less work for the same pay in the public sector, and if they feel they could get that public sector job if only they waited it out a few months. Or if social security is sufficient to keep them going.

Stop fucking thinking like a goddamned fucking Westerner. Social status, mate.

Social prestige, networks, that's what counts.

About the khawaga expat pay issue, I've heard people argue both sides (those who say that the Western-educated really do offer different skills, need the higher pay to lure them to work in the godforsaken Gulf, have higher education and travelling expenses, etc and those who say it's a colonial hangover) and I wonder if most companies do actually have a formal or informal payscale by nationality or if the different pay-packages simply depend on what it takes to get those of different nationalities to sign on.

Obviously not formal, mate, but my business is business and I will tell you right out, yes, Western Expats usually have stronger work ethic/procedures. Of course, Western experienced (not just educated) staff with local passports are usually just as good, if not better.

Work processes in the West are in fact better. Period.

Having people who know how to work in teams, etc. is of real value, initiative takers, etc.

Not all locals understand this (locals as in 'in region' - not just Emiratis) and thus resent higher pay packages.

There is, of course a colonial hangover issue as well, but that is not what drives say Western firm hiring, and you see similar (although not identical) patterns.

I'm also mildly amused by the irony of Europeans and Americans complaining about the special status granted to UAE nationals as the US and European countries hardly have a free labour market themselves, and reserve government jobs for their own nationals too...

Mate, don't make me disgusted with half-assed idiotic comparisions like that: there is no comparability. European market is positively a free market in many ways compared with the wierd, fucked up Gulf.

and UAE nationals huffing away about expats taking "their" jobs sound an awful lot like Joe Sixpack in America complaining that Latino migrants steal jobs from hardworking Americans by doing plumbing work for less than $60,000 a year.

Parochialisms.

Just wanted to point out this article in FT:

UAE in drive to tackle rampant unemployment

How long will the social prestige/status incentive last if the government stops being able to hand out cushy jobs - a generation?

And what's the social security system like, dubaiwalla, other than the free housing provision you talked about?

Eerie - that FT article was actually what got me thinking about all this.

Until the recent spike (as in last 5 years) rise in oil prices, Saudi Arabia was having a hard time maintaining its system. It tried to push Saudis into non-governmental jobs, and I don't think it was very successful. How long can people hold out like that? Well, it depends on how quickly the system crumbles, who is left supporting whom, what proportion of people are performing productive jobs and in a position to be taxed accordingly, etc.

So far as I know the UAE doesn't hand out unemployment pay. It distributes money in other ways- among other things, Emiratis who marry each other, as opposed to foreigners, get just under $20,000; healthcare is free, and utility prices are subsidized; the government generates employment for Emiratis in the form of public sector jobs (there are supposed to be about 5 workers for every real job); education is free- I believe this also includes money needed to complete university studies abroad. Furthermore, people falling on hard times can count on family networks to prop themselves up.

This guy could get a job at the (UK's) Daily Mail!