ARAB NEWS: JEDDAH, 12 April 2008 — The effect of the Saudi riyal being pegged to the weakening US dollar is posing a dilemma to several expatriate workers in the Kingdom, who are either silently suffering the erosion of their incomes or quitting their jobs and going back to their native countries.
Abdul Haq Al-Tazi, a Moroccan accountant working in a private company, said he almost decided not to return after his vacation. He has been forced to reconsider the move because of the dwindling exchange rate of his riyal-based income compared to the currency in his home country.
The SR1,000 he used to send to his family in Morocco used to have an exchange value of 3,000 Moroccan dirhams. Today that SR1,000 fetches only about 2,000 dirhams, Tazi said.
“This fall in my income is because of the euro to which the currency of my country is linked while the value of US dollars, to which Saudi riyal is pegged, is falling. Now I have to send home almost SR1,500 every month to compensate for the shortfall,” Tazi said. He added that his employer did not raise his salary to compensate for the loss that began to be largely noticeable over the past several months. “Since the situation is getting worse I am thinking of leaving for my country where I can at least live with my family,” Tazi said.
Tazi is not the only Moroccan who is considering leaving Saudi Arabia due to the weakening currency and the refusal of employers to raise salaries to compensate for the current problems caused by the riyal-dollar peg. Anas ibn Zaydoun, another Moroccan working in a tourism firm in Jeddah, said he has decided to leave. Expats Feel Bite of Weak Dollar >>> By Galal Fakkar, Arab News | April 12, 2008
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