A spell cheque for us

Thanks to the much tom-tommed news of an economic boom, finally those who think in terms of monthly salaries are likely to get the highest salary hike in the world this year.

Before we go anywhere farther, let us just stress on the fact that we, media chaps, are the harbingers of this happy news. The news is that 2008 is a good year for the salaried classes. Thanks to the much tom-tommed news of an economic boom, finally those who think
in terms of monthly salaries — and monthly bills — are likely to get the highest salary hike in the world this year. If you trust the survey conducted by the global human resource service company Hewitt Associates, then the hike will be around 15.2 per cent as an average across sectors this year.

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And even though we’re overlooking the base amount here, domestic company workers will have a better cash jump than MNCs.

But before you start finalising that rather significant home loan or upgrade your car, do know that last year’s salary jump for the Indian salaried classes was about 15.1 per cent. So do feel your wallet before you go on that fancy tour to the North Pole. Sectorally, employees in the real estate business will see the brightest increment letters this year — followed by energy, retail, telecom, banking, accounting and legal affairs.

The rundown obviously puts us, media chaps, in a pickle — considering our names don’t even figure in the happy list. With media interest (read: ad revenues) — especially in print — moving from the West to our neighbourhood, we should be getting a bumper crop too. Hello, proprietors, editors, bosses, are you listening?