Saudi Aramco said to plan wage hike after royal orders

Aramco will pay “eligible employees” an extra SAR 1,000 ($267) a month for one year beginning in January, the state-owned oil firm told Bloomberg.

The payments will be for employees inside the Kingdom who make SAR 20,000 a month or less, the report cited two unnamed sources familiar with the decision as saying.

Workers who belong to the apprenticeship and college degree program will get an extra 10 percent of their monthly stipend over the same period, Aramco said.

A number of companies decided to temporarily increase wages after King Salman announced that Saudi civil servants will get an extra SAR 1,000 a month to ease the burden of austerity measures, the news agency said.

Saudi Basic Industries Co., Al Rajhi Bank and National Commercial Bank announced similar measures, according to state-owned Al-Arabiya television. Samba Financial Group, Saudi Research and Marketing Group, Saudi Electricity Co. and the local stock exchange are also giving allowances to employees, it added.