Sharjah’s government salary increase takes effect this month, lifting the emirate’s minimum decent living floor to AED 20,000 for public sector staff. His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, approved the measure at an annual cost of over AED 1.187 billion. The order reaches close to 32,000 beneficiaries. Serving staff, families on social support, and two groups of retirees all fall within it.

Who benefits from the AED 20,000 floor?

Sharjah’s government salary increase spreads across four groups. The largest is the workforce itself. Sharjah government employees number 17,776 under the order, at an annual cost above AED 720 million. For households drawing social assistance, the floor rises to the same AED 20,000 monthly salary level, reaching 6,652 families at a yearly cost of AED 195,130,164. Two retiree groups complete the picture. Pensioners who served the emirate’s government, 2,251 in all, move to the minimum at AED 113,056,572 a year. A further 5,300 citizens who retired from outside the Sharjah government, under the Supplementary Grants scheme, reach the same level at AED 159 million annually. For pensioners overall, the Sharjah retirees pension baseline now matches serving staff at AED 20,000.

What Sharjah’s government salary increase means for pay

In practice, the decision functions as a Sharjah minimum wage for the public sector. Sheikh Sultan said allocations would rise for everyone, with no one left out. “There will be no employee whose salary does not increase, including those with high salaries,” he said during a phone-in on the Direct Line programme. Those most in need came first, he explained, since higher earners already had the means. Work on the file ran through Wednesday and finished at 2:30 am on Thursday. A study covering higher-paid grades is under way and will be reviewed the following week. New entrants gain as well. University graduates joining the Sharjah government will start at AED 27,125 a month, and school leavers at AED 20,950, figures set out by Abdullah Ibrahim Al Zaabi, chairman of the Sharjah Department of Human Resources. Al Zaabi fixed the start date at September 1, 2026. The Sharjah decent living allowance now anchors the lower end of the scale, with graduate rates sitting above it.

Why the Ruler raised the floor

Sheikh Sultan set the increases against rising prices. Costs had climbed for food, clothing, and other essentials, he said, and the Cabinet was watching food prices and barring violations. The raise, in his account, was sized to cover citizens’ needs. He tied every approval to the financial budget in the same session. “We held a productive session, completed all these matters, and linked these approvals to the financial budget,” he said. Sharjah’s government salary increase, he added, rests on close study of what Emirati households spend each month. The Ruler noted that pay in Abu Dhabi and Dubai was strong, and that Sharjah was moving in step. He urged citizens to organise their finances and avoid unnecessary loans, framing saving as a choice rather than a rule. Pay, he stressed, was earned compensation that people were entitled to.

Berth fees for fishermen

Beyond pay, the Ruler ordered a 50 percent cut in fees for marine vessel berths. The other half will go to fishermen’s societies, meant to keep berths available to eligible users and to help those societies maintain the facilities. This step sits alongside Sharjah’s government salary increase within the same set of directives issued this week.