In Kuwait, some public sector employees are probably crossing their fingers right about now.
The government has announced a proposal to raise salaries significantly for public sector employees, which currently employs more than 90 percent of Kuwaiti workers. Some 45 percent of these employees will receive an average pay raise of 18 percent.
In addition to the pay raise, the proposal puts forward a plan to standardize salaries and will also include a mechanism to adjust salaries with inflation. The government says this will cut down on unfair pay raises – often obtained through nepotism – according to Arabian Business.
However, one group of public workers won't be getting a bonus. Firefighters, police officers, defense personnel and national guards won't be seeing any extra cash heading their way.
Also those who already receive salaries above what the proposal sets as the standardized rate will see their incomes freeze until everyone else catches up and inflation rises.
Overall the extra payouts will cost the Kuwaiti government around $1.5 billion in the first year. In the longterm, the new plan is set to save the country an estimated $53 billion over 10 years, due to savings through the standardization of raises.
In the short term, it seems like a lot of public sector employees will be living it up with all their extra cash. However, we'll have to wait and see how things actually play out in 10 years.