ShareKUWAIT: The finance ministry asked all state departments to prepare lists that include the number of Kuwaiti employees and other sites where expatriate labor can be replaced by Kuwaitis before the end of March 2019, so that the ministry can continue its reforms.
Sources said the completion of the e-government system will reduce a large portion of manpower, so significant number of employees - both Kuwaitis and expats - will be let go, as electronic linkage will boost the ease of work environment and reduce the number of employees, which calls for replacement of foreign labor with Kuwaiti ones in addition to maintaining technical jobs.
The relative improvement in oil prices lately helps the general budget to reduce the deficit by a good percentage, but this does not mean that Kuwait should stop the financial reform program or the restructuring of the population structure, the sources noted. Meanwhile, official Public Authority for Civil Information statistics show a rise in the number of Kuwaitis working in the public and private sectors in the age group 15-19 years to 1,350.
Administrative jobs
State departments related to manpower listed the administrative jobs that Kuwaitis can occupy instead of expat labor in the private sector in the next eight years, an informed source said. The source added that the total number of Kuwaitis working in administrative jobs reached around 26,000 compared to 83,000 expats. The current year will see 8,000 Kuwaitis replacing expats, according to the source, including 2,000 graduates, besides transferring 6,000 from state departments to the private request as per their request. The jobs Kuwaitis would replace expats in include 24 administrative fields including administrative specialists, storekeepers, administrative researchers, heads of department, liaison officers, secretaries, exchange operators, data entry personnel, managers, supervisors and administrative assistants.
The source said the jobs also include assistant deputy CEOs, advisors, data registrars, supervisors, mandoubs (representatives), coordinators, deputy officials and manpower superintendents, besides other administrative jobs in the private sector. State departments included in their work plans for next year the replacement of 7,200 jobs including 2,000 jobs for new graduates and 5,000 from the public sector, the source said.
Meanwhile, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) is preparing to form a committee to continue implementation of the Civil Service Council decision 11/2017 with regards to the rules and procedures of Kuwaitization of government jobs. The sources said that the commission will prepare a study for the next fiscal year 2019/2020 that includes deciding the jobs groups included in Kuwaitization of jobs.
The sources said the committee will go to government departments separately, then decide the number of non-Kuwaiti employees that should be terminated to reach the percentage mentioned in the decision. Sources said the expat replacement plan for the new fiscal year will not include more than 3,000 expats. It said the number will be less than last year, adding that expats cannot be all terminated at once, adding that the decision aims at reaching the target percentage after five years.
Financial situation
Secretary General of the Manpower and Government Restructuring Program (MGRP) Fawzi Al-Majdali asked students working in the private sector who were accepted at Kuwait University and the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) to go to the MGRP to settle their financial situation and check their eligibility to receive labor support allowances so that they do not become legally responsible.
He said there are 797 students who owe a total of KD 4.318 million due to violation of Cabinet decision 572/2009 and its amendment 391/2001 with regards to granting social allowance to workers in the private sector, as they combined study and work in the private sector. He said the student will not benefit from the support unless he is over 25 years of age and has spent three years in the private sector.
Minimum wage
Informed sources at Kuwait University (KU) said the university sought the opinion of the fatwa and legislation department over a decision of the social affairs ministry that set the minimum salary of workers in tenders signed with government bodies at KD 75 per month per laborer. The sources said this comes at the recommendation of the KU purchase committee, and the reason for this is the demand by a cleaning company to pay the difference in its workers' salaries. They said the university will seek the opinion about the company's demand of the salary difference and whether it has the right for all its workers to receive the salary difference based on the decision that set the minimum salary in state departments.
Approval canceled
The State Audit Bureau cancelled its approval of allowing the Public Authority for Roads and Transport to put forth two tenders that were approved earlier because of a mistake in qualifying companies. The first tender is related to developing Abdaly highway from Mutlaa city to the intersection with the north regional road. The second tender is to construct and maintain bridges and roads and rainwater drainage in South Surra.
Car rental allowance
Municipal Council Secretary General Yousuf Al-Suqobi said there are serious attempts to approve the car rental allowance for council members, like leaders who work in the council and municipality, of KD 250 each. He said that no car will be issued to any member, as per the Cabinet's decision, but there is correspondence with the Civil Service Commission to approve the allowance. He added "in case the allowance is approved, it will be paid retroactively from May 22, or from the date of approval".
