Hopes of second hike in salary for all Kuwaiti citizens nosedive

Kuwaiti City: The government is not expected to change its rejection of a parliamentary suggestion for a second raise in wages and salaries.

Hussain Al Huriaty, an Independent MP, said yesterday the government is opposed towards a draft Bill stipulating a hike of 50 dinars (about Dh678) in salaries of all Kuwaiti employees in the private and public sectors.

"The Cabinet will resume its rejection but the parliament will get the 50 dinar increment for the citizens," he told Gulf News.

The parliament agreed on Wednesday to postpone a vote on the draft Bill for two weeks upon the request of the Cabinet.

The Cabinet has abruptly withdrawn from Tuesday's parliamentary session amid a vote on the proposed draft Bill compelling Speaker of the parliament to adjourn the session. The Cabinet's unprecedented withdrawal invalidated the vote which was commenced despite the Cabinet's rejection.

Prior to the vote, Minister of Finance Mustafa Al Shimali expressed the Cabinet's rejection to the proposal, claiming it unnecessary as the Cabinet has approved a recent increment in wages for all Kuwaiti employees in February.

"The Cabinet has already issued a hike of 120 Kuwaiti dinars in the salaries of all Kuwaiti employees in the public and private sectors. Expatriates in the public sector also got a raise of 50 dinars. The hike [costs] 1.018 billion dinars causing the salaries account in the state's budget to increase to about 5.7 billion dinars, taking up more than 50 per cent of the state's budget for this fiscal year. A further increment will take up what is allocated for development [in] the state's budget," Al Shimali told MPs and ministers.

Deputy Prime Minister Faisal Al Hajji requested the Speaker to delay the vote as the proposed draft Bill wasn't on the schedule of Tuesday's session. However, Speaker Jassem Al Khorafi went forth with the vote leaving no alternative to the Cabinet but to leave the session. "On the third vote, the Bill requires 44 supporting votes, out of 65 parliamentarians, including Cabinet members, to pass the law," he said.

Laila Ali is a journalist based in Kuwait