30 justice ministry expat employees laid off in Kuwait

Cairo: The Kuwaiti Justice Ministry has terminated services of 30 expatriates in a first group to be replaced by Kuwaitis as part of the country’s efforts to provide jobs for its citizens, Kuwaiti media said.

The ministry said Justice Minister Jamal Al Jallawi has unveiled a plan to “kuwaitise” jobs and empower citizens, Al Qabas newspaper reported.

The minister’s directives include the necessity of going ahead and “swiftly” terminating contracts of non-Kuwaiti employees in jobs covered by a replacement plan under a 2017 decree issued by the government employment agency, the Civil Service Commission, it added. It was not immediately clear how many expatriates will be replaced at the ministry.

Kuwait has recently ramped up efforts to create jobs to its citizens under a policy dubbed “Kuwaitisation” and to redress its demographic imbalance.

Foreigners make up nearly 3.4 million of Kuwait’s overall population of 4.6 million.

In recent months, there have been increasing calls in Kuwait for curbing foreigners’ employment along accusations that migrant workers have strained the country’s infrastructure facilities amid economic repercussions from the COVID-19 pandemic.