Emirates the Road Ahead
In light of recent events many are taking stock of what the future holds not for Emirates but for themselves.
I have little doubt the company will go from success to success. That has been amply demonstrated. Fleets, employees, load factors, revenues and profits have risen more than linearly.
Sadly that cannot be said for the employees. By every measure they have lost in this story of success. For the individuals more work has been demanded for the money paid and the money paid has decreased in real terms.
15 years ago (as of May ‘98) a first year FO earned 16040 AED per month.
Today an FO earns 25450 with and additional 3375 flying pay (assuming 900 hours in the year) making a total of AED 28825 per month.
Thus in 15 years first year FO salary has increased 80% numerically.
This increase is woefully inadequate for the increased costs of goods and services around the world, let alone Dubai where inflation is far more prevalent. Oil for instance cost around $20 dollars per barrel in ‘98. One only has to go to CNN Money online to see that today Oil is at $97 per barrel and Gold at sits at $ 1245. Gold was $ 325 in ‘98.
The same scale of increases can be found in almost any commodity or service we purchase. In rough figures it is easy to see that while comparable salaries in the time period have not quite doubled, everything else has risen by a factor of 4 or 5.
It is sad news to anyone who joined in the last year that they are earning less than half what a joining FO earned a decade and a half ago. And of course working considerably harder which is simply another form of pay reduction. If the same calculations were done on a Dollars-per-hour basis the picture would be even bleaker.
Last year pilots were awarded a 0.5% salary increase in order to cater for the rampant inflation from May 2013 to May 2014. That seems almost a cruel joke. Inflation had already far exceeded this in the previous year.
Even more cynical was the Presidents email: “Don’t be fazed by inflationary pressures and doomsday predictions. I firmly believe that everyone associated with Emirates, and foremost the airline’s 42,000-plus family, will be well looked after.”
What did that mean? I am fazed by inflationary pressures on a daily basis. After all I can hardly control them or pretend they don’t exist. I simply have to cut back on the lifestyle choices for my family. This is hardly a morale booster. And what does: “I firmly believe” mean? He doesn’t know? I thought this was within his control. I would prefer assurances. People who tell me they “firmly believe” something are almost always saying exactly the opposite IMHO.
All very well for Sir Clark, but on his salary and bonus I don’t suppose a cost of living increase of 10-15% really is something to be fazed about. So while rents escalate in the 10-30% region and basic living essentials climb another 10% I hope I can place some faith in these assurances. I look forward to this year’s salary review with an expectation of a least 10% and hopefully another 20% to advance us in some small measure towards where things once were. Then I probably could “kick-start the year with renewed energy and vigour.” Because frankly I’m exhausted, deflated, demoralized and like so many others here I am tidying up my affairs in the UAE and working on my exit strategy.
Do I expect a radical difference elsewhere? Not really but at least I can be on home turf, a first class citizen and not a highly paid foreign laborer. I might be appreciated and not constantly threatened. I will have rights and laws to protect me. I can escape the infernal summer heat and be statistically less likely to die in a motor accident.
The issue of workers’ wages declining while those of Executives’ continue to rise exponentially is of such concern that President Obama made it the theme of his State of the Union Speech. While I doubt he has the power against corporate America to do much about it, he fully appreciates the dangers. And so do the elite around him. They worry that the masses grow restless. The disparity can bring no good to the world and is essentially the stuff revolutions are made of. Many leading economists and libertarians express this more vocally every day. It has huge dangers for all.
While EK is a microcosm of this, that is no excuse to jump on the bandwagon. I urge our leaders extreme caution as this has the potential to do a good company untold damage in ways we can hardly consider.
Don’t make your profits and bonuses at our expense. We don’t ask for more - simply the same. We work loyally and diligently to keep people, property and the Company safe. We ask you recognize the work, reward accordingly and evenly, acknowledge honestly when we start work and when we stop. Don’t conspire to turn a profit from perks given in good faith. Use common sense and not manipulations of the law. Stop using selective statistics to prove an agenda. Look at all the statistics, even the less palatable. Truths cannot be denied however unpalatable they may be.
Maybe this is a model that all 21st centuries now employ but I hanker after a former company with an ethos of success for all, respect for all. I am weary of being a “resource” that is disposable, depreciable and exploitable.
Pixy