Salaries in Saudi Arabia: Qualification and Experience or Nationality?

When you are offered a job to come and work in Saudi Arabia, many things come to your mind and one of them is the salary. What will you get when you come to this petrol-rich country? You are offered a salary of 1000 USD plus benefits included. You are overwhelmed with joy. You just got a big shot because in your country you are offered a salary of 400 USD without benefits (for the same job).

There you go! So proud of yourself. You come to Saudi Arabia, and you get everything just as promised. Mashallah! Housing, transportation, medical insurance all covered. In addition, you are satisfied with your job. What more can you ask for?

Lets say you are this other guy from the west (U.S or Canada). You get an offer to come to Saudi Arabia. Your current salary is 1000 USD. Woud you leave to come and work in Saudi Arabia for the same salary? You might want to do that if you are a Muslim and you want to live in a country where you can practice your religion more conveniently.  Most people would certainly say, "no". Okay. They offer 2000 USD with all the benefits that go along with it. That sounds more interesting, right? You move to Saudi Arabia and you start working.

After several months of working with your colleague, you become very good friends. In the course of your converstions you discover that he gets a salary of 1000 USD. You both have or nearly have the same levels of education, you are both competent and you are doing the same job. Yet one of you gets 1000 USD less than the other. Is this unfair?

This is what happens in some institutions within the Kingdom. I was once a witness; I was paid more. The question that one might want to ask is this: Are there any defined salary ranges for specific jobs with respect to qualifications and level of experience in the Kingdom? If yes, are these applied to all working sectors. And why does nationality have to be an issue when it comes to salaries?