Emirates pays us to fly their airplanes, train their pilots, AND to move our families half way around the world AND to live in Dubai. All of these things go into the equation and the traffic, whether it is of Emirates making or not is part of living in Dubai. I and many others find ourselves saying more and more often, "They don't pay me enough for this sh....!" Some of this shi.... is of Emirates making and some of it isn't but it all affects whether it is worth it or not. Jobs that are in difficult places to live routinely pay premiums for those places. It is a normal part of global business. The question is whether Dubai now requires a premium. When many of us came here, Dubai provided a lifestyle that didn't require a premium. In fact, Emirates did trade on that (no one ever accused them of not being shrewd). I think that what many of us are saying is that given the diminishing lifestyle factors of Dubai (both company induced and external), that a premium to live here is now in order. In fact, many other companies in Dubai are now starting to realize this. What many are also saying is that if the company addressed those issues that are under their control (rosters/fatigue, credit and in general, respect), that the premium would not need to be quite so large.
Does the pay increase address this? "Are they now paying me enough for this sh...?". I think that most of the responses here (which in my opinion tend to reflect the larger pilot force) answer that question.