Serious efforts to protect citizens in private sector
KUWAIT: Minister of Social Affairs and Labor and Minister of State for Economic Affairs Hind AlSabeeh stressed that the government is serious in protecting citizens who were laid off from private companies, and stressed that legislations are being made to have those citizens appointed in various ministries without having to wait. This will be done by having the Civil Service Commission (CSC) give them priority in nomination for various jobs.
Sabeeh made her statements in a letter sent to the National Assembly in response to a parliamentary inquiry about the measures taken by the government to avoid a new episode of laying off Kuwaiti employees working for the private sector, similar to what happened a few years ago. The letter which was made available to the press quotes the minister as saying that labor law in the private sector (law number 6/2010) regulates work in the private sector and protects employees’ rights.
Sabeeh added that measures taken by the government include encouraging employers to hire more citizens by giving them more incentives in order to annually provide around 10,000 job opportunities, and subjecting citizens already working for the private sector to special periodic training courses to help them keep tier jobs. Furthermore, the measures include prioritizing the appointment of laid off citizens in various government bodies within a month after nomination, and launching nine awareness campaigns to change citizens’ perception of work and its values to encourage more Kuwaitis to seek private sector jobs. Finally, Sabeeh stressed that the total number of citizens appointed in the private sector has remarkably increased from only 1,627 in 2001 to 25,883 in 2015.