MP eye on Filipinos, Egyptians over jobs

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 20: Member of the Job Crisis and Replacement Policy Committee in the Parliament MP Mohammed Al-Dalaal has stressed the need to address the issue of the large Egyptian and Filipino communities in the country.

He pointed out, “We do not need a huge number of Egyptian and Filipino employees, especially the marginalized workers who cause certain

problems like traffic congestion, paralyzing State services and job crisis.”

He criticized the government’s lack of vision in limiting the number of these employees while he considers the State policy on employment replacement just a “banner without implementation.” He said there is no clear vision in terms of priorities in addressing the job crisis and implementing the replacement policy, as no one is even looking at how these workers outnumber Kuwaitis in the private sector. He highlighted the disproportionate number of Egyptian and Filipino workers in the country.

He admitted that decreasing the number of marginalized employees is a challenge for his committee, since the government’s plan in addressing the issue

lacks a long term vision. “We are not doing anything to control the number of these workers while their respective countries and other bodies are pushing in more workers.”

He urged the government to focus on addressing the issue because the increasing number of foreign workers will “pose a danger to us as a country. If the Ministry of Interior intensifies its efforts, thousands of erring workers will be arrested and deported. This is not racism; the country does not need such a large number of foreign workers. The focus should be on skilled labor force for the good of the country.”