BAE offers 'Saudi danger money' :: Namibia Internet Gateway cc ::

Articles: BAE offers 'Saudi danger money'

Posted by admin on Friday, June 25, 2004 - 06:34 AM

BAE Systems is offering its staff in Saudi Arabia an extra £1,000 a month in an attempt to stop the exodus of staff, one employee has told BBC News Online.
The indefinite monthly payment follows a one-off payment of £4,500 in December after housing compounds were bombed in May 2003, killing 35 people. The security situation has deteriorated since then. Earlier this month al-Qaeda militants beheaded an American engineer they had been holding hostage. The British-owned defence firm made the £1,000 cash offer in an e-mail to each of its 2,400 staff in Saudi Arabia, describing it as an "emergency security payment", the employee said. Response to bombing The employee said that people have been on edge since the housing compounds came under fire in May 2003 but that employees were encouraged to stay on the payroll to get the lump-sum offer in December. The new, monthly offer came after militants took dozens of hostages at the Oasis housing compound in the Khobar last month. "Everyone assumed the latest payment was because there had been resignations. Everybody assumed it was to get you to stay," he said. Many married employees have sent their families back to the UK but felt it was financially worth their while to stay on, he added. Most of the 30,000 Britons in Saudi Arabia live in fortified compounds and regular security-related meetings are being held. BAE has also made concessions on flights to the UK and arranged for employees to have long sought-after multi-exit visas for weekend trips to Bahrain, according to the employee. Special circumstances A BAE spokesman refused to comment on any security payments that may have been made, but confirmed the company takes into account special circumstances. The spokesman said he did not think BAE's workforce in Saudi Arabia would fall dramatically, although the company was considering sending home the dependents of workers. "People who work for BAE are committed to what we are doing and we are committed to helping Saudi Arabia," he added. Fred Finan, an executive with international corporate security specialist Diligence, said such practices were not unique and bonuses to employees are becoming more common place. "People are leaving Saudi Arabia and companies are going to have to use inducements as well as taking practical steps by making things more secure for employees and their families. "At the end of the day, it's an individual's judgment as to whether £1,000 a month is a reasonable amount".

· 135 Reads ·