Airlines such as SQ, EK and CX operate in a free market. Staff get paid the going rate for their skills
Emirates get very good pay (especially when compared to Qantas).
I get sick of people crapping on about how well paid Emirates pilots are. As a 3 year B777 Captain you get around $9,000 Oz per month gross with up to $1,200 extra flight pay in the good months. That's on current exchange rates & makes $108,000 pa for base salary.
I know that that Dubai is a tax free environment & Emirates management certainly look at nett pay at other companies when stating that they are paying market rates, but my opinion is that the tax benefits belong to the pilot as compensation for living in the desert. So the comparison should be gross vs gross. And on that basis, the pay at Emirates is not that great.