Originally Posted by
Your Proxy
If you are looking at joining EK and have a reasonable amount of experience or relevant type rating, it might be worth negotiating your joining salary.
To do this you need to understand the pilot salary structure.
The pilot salary scale ranges from Level 1 to Level 35. These Levels are known as Steps.
Level 1 is AED 25,460. Each level up to Level 36 is an increment of 3% on the previous level, making Level 30 AED 60,090. This has remained unchanged for the past 5 years. In May 2016, 5 levels were added from Level 31 to Level 35. A step was awarded in that year putting a small number of senior pilots on Level 31. If they had previously been capped on Level 30, they had not received step increments when the rest of the pilots had.
If the "salary" is increased then the whole scale from 1 to 35 would go up by the increment percentage. Apart from a 0,5% increment in May 2013 the salary scale has remained unchanged since May 2011
Salary "Steps" are occasionally awarded. A step is not a salary increase. It is simply moving from one level to the next. Originally this was automatic each year. The idea was to ensure a pilot got paid more for loyalty and experience as he/she spent longer in the company. From when this salary system came into effect in 1996 to 2008 a "step" was awarded every year in line with the original intention of the system. After that there were several years with no step.
The system was transparent to all as the entire salary scale was published with each salary review along with explanatory notes up to 2004. After this the system was deliberately made opaque. A pilot can enquire from HR what Step he/she is on but will not be given the whole scale as before.
By keeping the salary scale practically constant for the past 5 years, inflation has eroded the salaries at EK leading to general discontent as the cost of living in the UAE has risen every year. Government statistics show it as variable between 1% and 5% with a median of about 3.5%. This ignores the increased taxes imposed in the same period. It is only fair to say that there has been a step on most of the past 5 years which somewhat counters inflation. However this implies that loyalty and experience count for little. Such is the modern corporate.
The jump from FO to Captain is simply a jump of 12 steps. An FO who is on say Level 3 and achieves command will jump 12 steps to level 15. Technically a Direct Entry Captain joins on Level 1 and immediately jumps the 12 steps to Level 13.
This keeps everything in line as regards seniority and years of service. If an FO had been around for 4 step increases (Level 4) he/she would jump to Level 16 on achieving command. A DEC joining at the same time would be on Level 13.
At least that's the theory.
However recently EK publicized that they would pay more for experienced pilots. And they do! Pilots are actually in a position to bargain for the joining level. FO's do not necessarily come in on Level 1. They could come in on Level 6 and have a basic of around AED 29,500. They would obviously have to have experience to offer. Likewise DEC's could come in above Level 13 and this does happen. A DEC joining at Level 20 would have a basic salary of around AED 44,600, well above an FO who has done 5 years with the company and upgraded recently.
EK pilots assume that if enough pilots leave this would force the company to increase the salary scale. That is simply not true. The scale can remain largely static. Inexperienced FO's will join to fly the big shiny jet and are happy at Step 1. Experienced pilots can and do negotiate their start salary. There has been no incentive to increase the scale while the entry level experience bar has been lowered. Those already in the system have to hope that EK raise the salary scales or award a step. Failing that the only way to achieve a higher salary is look elsewhere.
For these reasons, my guess is that the salary scale will not change this year. There will likely be a step. An increase in pay per hour is also likely. They would be wise to put up the productivity pay rates as these have lagged even more that the salary scale. Productivity is the cheapest rate per hour that pilots fly. If they don't address it soon people will prefer calling sick to doing the overtime. It simply won't be worth it. In short "manage your expectations".
So New Joiner, if you make it through the recruitment process (or are considering returning to EK) and are sitting on the fence, then be sure to make a counter offer to their contract offer. What have you to lose? The difference of a single level over several years is tens of thousands.
As for loyalty? I think that went out the door years ago.
Excellent post, succinct, accurate - factually correct.
Thanks for taking the time to outline the current situation re step/Pay.