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06 Jan 2021
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GCC salary study: Some jobs ‘positively impacted’ in 2020, pay rises forecast in 2021

January 6, 2021

Many people working in the Gulf have seen their salaries ‘positively impacted’ during 2020 while half of employers plan pay rises for staff in 2021, according to the Hays 2021 Salary & Employment Report.While 2020 was a year of unprecedented challenges for the global jobs market, salaries for the majority of professionals working in the Gulf region were unaffected.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Released on Wednesday, Hays’ research also revealed that employees surveyed expect their pay to increase this year.“As ever, when it comes to salaries, it has been a mixed picture for professionals in the region,” said Chris Greaves, managing director of Hays Gulf region.Greaves admitted that the widespread assumption that professional lives were negatively affected by COVID-19 existed, but “as our survey shows, this is just not the case,” he said.Compiled from a survey of more than 3,500 employers and employees from across the region, the report found that while 18 percent of working professionals’ salaries decreased in 2020 compared to 2019, a significant 34 percent increased, and 48 percent remained the same.Industry trendsThe report found that of all the different job functions, IT and technology professionals experienced the greatest number of pay increases in 2020 (38 percent), while the lowest number of salary increases were paid to those in office support and administration roles (26 percent).“Demand and salaries for tech professionals have been relatively high as, despite the challenges COVID-19 has brought to businesses this year, the need for automation is more crucial than ever in enabling organizations to remain competitive in their respective markets,” said Greaves.“Employers are willing to pay high salaries for the top tech talent to ensure they are setup as efficiently as possible for business going forward,” he explained.With the forced closure of many offices during the lockdown, demand for office support and administrative roles decreased, along with salaries, Greaves said, and added that “the shift to more home and remote working, made many of these roles redundant.”When comparing different industry sectors: telecoms; pharmaceuticals and life sciences; and banking and financial services were the three most robust industries in 2020, with only six percent of employees within these experiencing a pay cut.The four sectors which introduced the highest salary reductions were aviation, hospitality and tourism, engineering, and property. Thirty-four percent of employees in these industries experienced pay cuts.“It is of no surprise that these industries have been most negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Greaves. “Lockdowns and threats of spreading the virus reduced tourism numbers overnight in March, and there are still many barriers to traveling.”Oil prices fell parallel to demand and resulted in some significant cutbacks on fiscal and monetary policies of governments of oil-producing nations.Looking aheadSalary expectations for 2021 are optimistic with nearly half, 47 percent, of employers planning to increase pay rates in their organization in the next 12 months.Similarly, 47 percent of employees expect their salary to increase in 2021, most commonly by 5-10 percent.“From our own experiences in the market, business activity really picked up across all sectors towards the end of 2020, and we believe this momentum will continue over the coming months,” he said.“We believe that the worst impacts of the pandemic are behind us, and organizations will add to their headcount and reward staff going forward, rather than freezing pay or making further redundancies,” Greaves concluded.Read more:Informal workers in Arab world hit hardest by coronavirus, unlikely to get helpCoronavirus: How the Gulf economy has allowed women to keep their jobsCoronavirus: Middle East unemployment to spike amid regional recession, says IMF
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: GCC salary study: Some jobs ‘positively impacted’ in 2020, pay rises forecast in 2021

06 Jan 2021
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Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia’s Hajj, Umrah minister advises pilgrims to get vaccinated

January 6, 2021

Muslims who want to perform the Umrah pilgrimage are advised to receive the coronavirus vaccine beforehand, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Hajj and Umrah Mohammed Benten told Al Arabiya on Tuesday.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.Preventative protocols will continue to be in place, but as a precautionary measure it is advised that all those who wish to perform the ritual take the COVID-19 vaccine, he said.More than 100,000 people have already taken the vaccine, al-Ekhbariyah TV reported on Wednesday.The Kingdom offers free vaccinations for all citizens and residents.Masks are required at all times during Umrah, and the age limit on pilgrims is still in place, Benten added.According to authorities, pilgrims must be between the age of 18 and 50 to be allowed to perform Umrah.Social distancing is enforced at all times to prevent crowding, and the courtyards are sanitized repeatedly throughout the day using more than 2,500 liters, of environmentally-friendly sterilizers.Medical teams have also been stationed in several areas around the courtyards, and an isolation and medical check-up room has been designated in case of a suspected coronavirus case.The precautionary measures have been put in place to ensure the safety of all visitors, a spokesman for the GeneralPresidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque told Al Arabiya when Umrah pilgrims were first allowed to perform the ritual in November.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia’s Hajj, Umrah minister advises pilgrims to get vaccinated

06 Jan 2021
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Coronavirus: UAE detects record number of new cases with 2,067 infections

January 6, 2021

The United Arab Emirates detected a record number of new coronavirus cases with 2,067 new infections in just 24 hours, the Ministry of Health and Prevention announced on Wednesday.This brings the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 218,766.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.Cases in the UAE have been on the rise in recent weeks, with authorities detecting over 1,000 new infections daily.On Tuesday, 1,967 new cases were reported. A day earlier, the ministry said that 1,501 COVID-19 cases were detected in 24 hours.Four people died on Wednesday due to complications caused by the coronavirus, which brings the virus-related death toll in the UAE to 689.Meanwhile, 2,199 people recovered from the disease, according to the ministry. The total number of recoveries in the country is now 195,520.Despite the rise of infections, Dubai on Tuesday announced it would be reducing the isolation period for a few coronavirus patients and those who came into close contact with infected individuals to 10 days from the previous 14 day period.The Dubai Health Authority said the decision to shorten the self-isolation period was based on global research showing that the majority of contact cases get infected within the first 10 days from last exposure.Read more:Coronavirus: Dubai reduces quarantine period for some COVID-19, close contact casesVaccine tourism: Can you travel to get a COVID-19 vaccine in Dubai?
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: UAE detects record number of new cases with 2,067 infections