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Bloomberg
King Salman ordered extra pay for Saudi government workers and soldiers this year after the implementation of value-added taxation and a surge in fuel prices stirred grumbling among citizens.
Royal orders issued early on Saturday restored an annual pay raise for Saudi civil servants, suspended as part of attempts
to rein in a hefty public-sector wage bill. The king also ordered a 5,000-riyal ($1,333) bonus for soldiers fighting in the kingdom’s war in Yemen and granted Saudis working for the state an extra 1,000 riyals a month as a “cost of living†allowance for a year.
King Salman said he issued the orders after Prince Mohammed, his son and heir, explained that the recent measures “would increase the burden on some citizens,†according to the royal decree published by the official Saudi Press Agency.
The orders also included: 500 riyals extra a month for retirees and social benefits recipients 10 percent bump in student allowances, the government will bear the cost of VAT for citizens benefiting from private healthcare and education services.
The handouts will cost the state more than 50 billion riyals, Saud Al-Qahtani, an adviser to the royal court, said on his Twitter account.