Ministry fields 447 issues, settles 200
KUWAIT CITY, Oct 6: The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor dealt with 447 reports submitted by domestic workers from April 23 to July 26, 2018, says Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Hind Al-Sabeeh in response to the queries of MP Omar Al-Tabtabaei.
Al-Sabeeh disclosed that 200 of these reports were settled amicably while 11 were referred to the courts and five were resolved by recruitment offices.
She said a specialized department handles labor-related issues reported by workers, in conjunction with a similar department under the umbrella of the Ministry of Interior which receives reports from the employers.
She disclosed the Cabinet issued Decree No. 614/2018 on April 13 regarding the transfer of the department under the Ministry of Interior to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor. Since this move necessitates a transition period, the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) has been given until March 31, 2019 to complete all the necessary procedures and start operations. During the transition period, the Ministry of Interior will continue to operate the department ensuring there is no disruption until completion of the transfer of authority.
Furthermore, the government has rejected the Early Retirement Bill and referred it back to the Parliament; citing reasons that make the bill unimplementable. Therefore, the relevant parliamentary committees are preparing their reports based on information given to them by concerned governmental authorities. These reports will be submitted to the Parliament for deliberation and passage of the bill for the second time.
Commenting on the subject, MP Ahmed Al-Fadel stated that any MP who submits amendments to the bill “is putting a stick through the wheels,” especially when it comes to Article Four which stipulates percentages.
He said he wants the bill to achieve two main goals: first is provide the government with a choice to open positions and prevent inflation of expenditures on salary to help the economy and address the job crisis.
Second is to rebalance the scales at the Public Institution for Social Security as the bill should correct errors in its finances. He explained that by presenting two choices – compulsory or optional retirement, the cost will be based on the salary scale.
In another development, member of the parliamentary Committee for Improvement of Work Environment MP Majed Al-Mutairi has confirmed the panel’s approval of several recommendations which were referred to the government.
He said one of these recommendations is for cooperative societies to allocate 20 percent of their commercial spaces for rent to owners of small and medium enterprises, retirees or housewives as an initiative to support local businesses.
Agencies add:
MP Safa’a Al-Hashim has warned Minister of Health Dr Bassel Al-Sabah about the violations of Kuwait Institute for Medical Specializations (KIMS) and the high rate of failure in “board exams”, reports Aljarida daily.
In a press statement, MP Al-Hashim indicated that she has information about biased suspicions, as per which certain individuals are meant to pass the board exam while others fail, based on the failure rate among youth who are competent and represent the energy of this nation.
She stressed that she has prepared a set of questions for the Health Minister, who is the main official of KIMS, explaining that, “The situation in this institute is killing the efforts of our nation and discouraging others from attempting to take such path. This is unacceptable and worth probing to know who is behind this war on young skilled Kuwaiti doctors.”
The lawmaker went on to say, “The failure rate among those sitting for board exams is very high in internal medicine and dermatology. Above all, the senior official in charge of the board exam program has been on a one-year trip, leaving his students (medical residents) behind”.
MP Al-Hashim said the questions addressed to the Health Minister will consist of the identity of the one running the medical board exam program in KIMS, and the reason why necessary conditions for students have not been followed, as well as the manner of expenditure of the budget set for the institute throughout the years.
She urged the minister to meet with the officials of KIMS and demand satisfactory responses from them concerning young Kuwaiti medical experts and the future of the medical sector, as well as the reason why applicants are finding it hard to pass the board exams while “others” are finding it easy.