Dirty Dinar

Yesterday, I posted about the cleaners’ strike. An update in the Arab Times today says the issue has been resolved:

Of the 5,000 Bangladeshi cleaners, who had gone on strike on Sunday, many went back to work Monday after the company cleared their two months’ back pay, says Shariar Siddiky, the Labour Attache at the Bangladesh embassy. Siddiky was unable to provide the exact number of workers who returned to work, but added that over 5,000 cleaners had stopped working, accusing their company of flouting the contract. He added that cleaners working at the health and the defense ministries resumed work and the embassy is exerting efforts to find a solution to the problems of workers employed with other establishments. The workers of the above two ministries, who were being paid KD 18 salary earlier, will now receive KD 40.

On the one hand, it’s good that they bumped up their salaries 220%. On the other, aren’t their services worth more than KWD 40? Keep in mind that only the workers at the Health & Defense Ministries got a pay hike. The workers at other Ministries will have to wait to see their issue resolved.

In other strike news, the Kuwait Times reported there was a gas station workers strike. Did it affect you?

Always remember to count your blessings. As I read this article in the Kuwait Times I felt both ashamed at the way companies treat the people they employ and myself for not taking better care of my finances when so many people are worse off .

Agitated laborers disclosed the reasons behind the strike, despite being fully aware of the crucial departments they are employed in, like hospitals, Kuwait University etc. Voicing their grievances, they complained of nonpayment of salaries from 3 to 6 months. They also slammed the meager salaries they are being paid (KD 18), despite being contracted by the company at KD 40. Even this low salary is delayed over several months, they complained.

It really puts things in perspective. Where are all those people who chant at the doors of Parliament that they cannot live on their KWD 500, 700, 1000 salaries? How would they fare with only KD 18 at each month?

Another 3 month gap and I’m amazed at what happened with my finances! I was right not to give up on 2008! My finances are still a mess because I haven’t been keeping track of my expenses but I’ve bounced back somewhat. I quit my job after receiving a generous offer from another company and it’s helped me recover from my financial misteps, but I still have some months to go until I’m in the green again.

Here’s a run-down on my new earnings:

• I make KWD 1425 - KWD 1200 of which is my base salary and the rest are benefits granted by the company.
• I also get a supplementary allowance of KWD 310 from the government (Thank you to the last Parliament! Now let’s see if it keeps up with the inflation you’ve accelerated!).
• My deductions include my car loan and Social Insurance, which brings my total earnings for the month to  KWD 1411.867.

If I stick to my old budget I should be able to save KWD 1000 a month but I have to factor in my new financial state. I’ve accumulated debt since my old budget, with both a car loan and credit card debt. My car loan will take several years to pay off and in the months when I first took out my car loan I used my credit card a lot, but that should take a few months to pay off.

To counter the debt, I opened a trading account with KWD 560 and have invested in one stock which has gone up since I’ve bought the shares.

Life is a mixed bag of blessings. I’m glad my finances are back on track but I need to return to my weekly budget to better handle my money. I get paid by the end of this week and I’ll have to take stock of every fils I have to my name.