Kuwait Plans Sacking Of 25,000 Expats In Favour Of Local Labour

Kuwaiti MPs are discussing plans to sack 25,000 expatriate workers and replace them with local labour.

The latest attempt to rid Kuwait of its high number of expatriate workers was the subject of a recent media report claiming the scheme would encourage Kuwaiti citizens to swap their jobs in the less demanding public sector for positions in private companies. For several years, the emirate’s lawmakers have been pushing the move as a solution to the high number of expatriates accused of disturbing Kuwait’s demographic balance.

Although no details of the plan were forthcoming from the MP, it’s true the private sector is heavily reliant on expat labour, as the work involved is demanding and salaries are lower than those in the public sector. At the present time, expats make up some 90 per cent of Kuwait’s private sector workforce, a controversial percentage often criticised by lawmakers. Another plan to encourage job take-ups by Kuwaiti nurses by providing scholarships, training courses and other incentives is also under discussion.

At the same time, some 1,500 job vacancies in Kuwait’s banking sector are now available and the numbers of unemployed graduates are on the increase due to a lack of policies aimed at encouraging them to enroll in the labour market as jobseekers. Another issue under discussion was the creation of a number of proposals aimed at employing the children of Kuwaiti national women in a number of state organisations. Employment privileges and procedures are to be set and given a timeline for their implementation.