Cairo: A short notice in a ministerial decision to end the services of expatriates in Kuwait municipality has triggered worries over the result, a Kuwaiti newspaper has said.
Last week, Kuwaiti Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Municipal Affairs Noura Al Mashaan directed the termination of the services of all university degree-holding expats at the municipality's executive body as well as the services of legal advisors at affiliated directorates within days.
The directive pertains to foreign workers holding degrees in law, engineering, accounting and others doing administrative jobs, media reports said.
The directive made Monday also stipulated that a ministerial decree would be made to terminate the services of expat legal advisors within three days. The move is part of government efforts to provide jobs for Kuwaiti citizens.
However, Al Jarida newspaper quoted municipal sources as saying that the short period set in the decision is bound to affect municipal performance. "The three-day grace period to end the services is not enough to qualify citizens and new employees to fill in the replacements," said the sources.
Municipal bodies are revising the decision from the legal perspective to decide on the "proper" ways of its implementation.
Previously, the municipality, in coordination with the state employment agency, the Civil Service Commission, had worked out a plan to gradually replace expats with Kuwaitis in a way that does not disrupt work, the sources said.
"The new Kuwaiti appointees need training to take over. The municipality will organise training courses for the appointees in the engineering, supervisory, administrative, and financial departments," the sources added.
There are no official figures for the number of the affected expats.
In recent years, Kuwait has intensified efforts to create jobs for its citizens, replace expat employees, and address the demographic imbalance in the country where most of the population is foreigners.
