Thank You Emirates
Email out from JA today on increases in some allowances.
A respectable 5% on Utilities and around 10% on Education. Transport as yet unknown but apparently gone up.
Rentals are rising along with property prices in Dubai now however over the past year they have been relatively static. EK could have kept utilities on hold but seem to have taken recent trends into account. They may be enticing more to leave company accommodation as perhaps there is a squeeze there. I will certainly look at this aspect.
Again they could have held off on Education until the fees for the new year were announced by schools. However something has driven this to be reviewed earlier. It is only in September that the new allowance becomes applicable however it is good news to some to know in advance what the allowance will be for planning purposes or to make assessments on joining or leaving. Some FO's were paying a good chunk to keep kids at school and hurting as there was no increase in allowance last year while the schools made large increases. This was causing some financial distress and prompting a re-evaluation on remaining here.
Cannot comment on transport. Dont get it but petrol prices have risen sharply over the past year so it was high time this was reviewed.
Inflation has been growing in Dubai at an alarming rate. The dirham has been devaluing alarmingly due to the US warped financial policy and corruption. It is encouraging to see an employer take this into account and adjust. (I'll leave the debate as to if it is enough or not to others)
However this is good news nonetheless. Any increase is welcome from a financial perspective but perhaps more importantly the demonstration that EK values its employees and takes current financial trends seriously is the better gift.
Thank you Emirates