Manama: Foreigners who have worked for Kuwait’s Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour for 30 years or more will have their contracts terminated by June 30.
“The instructions by the minister Dhikra Al Rashidi are to terminate the services of all non-Kuwaiti nations who have been with the ministry for at least 30 years,” Abdul Mohsin Al Mutairi, the ministry undersecretary, said, quoted by the local media.
The decision is part of a scheme announced by the government to infuse new blood in the government sector.
Kuwaiti nationals holding leading positions in the public sector and who have worked for more than 30 years have been encouraged to retire and special incentives have been promised to those who leave by June 30.
According to government figures, 138 leading Kuwaitis, including 11 women, could benefit from the offer. They work for 32 government entities, mainly the Emiri Court (22) and the Cabinet (14). Education, aviation and works follow with seven leading employees each.
The number of employees who have more than 30 years of service in the public sector was 6,275, including 1,811 women, Al Qabas daily reported.
The education ministry leads with 1,928 employees who have worked for at least 30 years.
“Being in the service of the nation does not mean that we have to remain as assistant undersecretaries for a longer period,” an assistant undersecretary was quoted as saying. “We can serve Kuwait from a different location and we must today offer young people the opportunity to assume their role in leading positions.”
The official published by the daily figures indicate that Kuwait has 330 people holding advanced positions to the level of undersecretary or secretary in the public sector.
Sceptics said that easing out top officials in the public sector could result in “frightening gaps that would be very difficult to fill”.
Kuwait, with a large expatriate community, has launched a massive drive to reform the labour market and end reliance on foreign labourers and employees.
