Job Discussion Forums

[miski]

[15yearsinQ8]

check your facts and cut the envy -

a kuwaiti with a BEng working in a Minstry of Public Works or Electricity and Water (read NOT oil company) has the following salary breakdown for the first salary after graduation
- 350-450 KD BASE salary
- 50 KD remote work pay (for work that involves remote areas, this does not include Doha power station even though Doha is at least a 45 minute [safe driving speed] from, say Salwa
- 200 KD marriage allowance (given to men only if they are married - most kuwaiti men flip their wives most of this monthly money- some women have this written into their marriage contracts)
- 50 KD allowance per child from the time they're born to the time they hit 18 (have you checked the price of formula and pampers in kuwait?)

a yeaarly bonus of 1 month's salary MAY be given as per the ministry/individual department and performance of the individual

6% of the base is deducted and send to social security BECAUSE AT RETIREMENT THE KUWAITI GETS 100% OF BASE only AS PENSION plus the marriage if still married and child allowance for children under 18

women teachers - entry level - make the following
450-550 KD base
remote pay is currently 50 kD but there are efforts to encourage teachers to work in developing remote areas
women receive no yearly bonuses unless they are very senior and in 'bonus' positions (usually senior admin and ministry itself or an 'inspector and then it's only about a salary that is around a month's salary per year)
women receive no other allowances - marriage , children, etc

women also have the 6% deducted

yes, isn't it incredible women teachers make more in base than engineers?

and yearly increases for all ministry workers per civil service guidelines are 10-20 KD yearly

now factor in the cost of living
apartments 250-350 monthly
maid 40 kd plus agency and ticket costs
food
entertainment
and last but not least car payments (hey, even teachers HAVE to have a mercedes or lexus)

[miski]

Yes, of course my estimate was WITH those darling allowances! And if they ever decide take those allowances away, we're scr*wed....

[007]

[grab-bag]

[[quote]Now, what I find REALLY find distasteful is some in blogs and teacher forums who espouse the overt or covert messege that Native speaking teachers and adminstrators (solely because they're native speaking) make better teachers and administrators than non-native speakers. The only word for this is 'colonialistic'. Yes, I admit there are some truly rotten non-native speaking teachers and adminsitrators, but so there are many rotten native ones as well. The louder some call for a reversal, the more it is apparent they're only looking out after their jobs (in a most colonialistic way). ][/quote]

Right on - a lot of cruds are actually native-speakers. They still think they occupy Samoa. These imperialists have no respect for the locals, no respect for non-native speaking staff and no respect for native speakers either. They are just there to make money and exploit the system. No wonder so many locals in Gulf countries come to despise us. We cheated them, exploited the, denigrated them and in some cases humiliated them. No wonder they are sick and tired of us all.


Some places like Kuwait are really into nationalization and putting locals into the education system especially at university level - other places still haven't got their act together, eg. QU where they can't even be bothered to recruit local teachers - and places like this still think native speakers are best. The joke is some native speakers can hardly speak properly but just the fact that they're native speakers is a selling point. At least some of the Kuwaitis have sussed us out.

What some locals have come to realize or understand is that a lot of native speakers are just in there for the bucks - they know they don't like the locals and can't be bothered to get to know them. The expats live in their ivory towers boozing, partying, sleezing around and pay no attention or respect to the culture they are only guest workers in. Is it no wonder the locals start to look down on us? We've been doing it to them for years.


Let's face it we native speakers have a serious image problem and it's only going to get worse. Sure the locals are snapping their fingers at us - after all that's what we've been doing to them for years!!!
Q8 has been good to a lot of people so just get on with it and think about nation building - or maybe that's too much for the billfold bullies. In my time here I've made friends with a lot of locals. I like and respect them and they like and respect me - mutual respect and tolerance go a long way. It's true that many Kuwaitis are on a limited budget - who says they get huge salaries. The country still has defence debts - costs a fortune to keep our yankee base in operation here. Money grubbers should think about the cost this kind of protection entails. We're safe here because the Kuwait government prioritizes national defence.

Stop the griping. Let this country grow and stop the exploitation - half of the gripers couldn't have a housemaid back in the States, now could they?

[Stephen Jones]

[veiledsentiments]

[sheikh radlinrol]