Kuwait City: In its first deliberation, the National Assembly approved the demographic imbalance proposal.
Out of the 41 members present, 29 approved the proposal which discusses controlling the employment rates and dividing them in a way that does not have a negative impact on the economy, the social make up and the service industry.
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The proposal, which was drafted by the Human Resource Committee and prepared based on the demographics statistics, was presented on the floor of the National Assembly on Tuesday for discussion.
The Minister of Social and Economic Affairs, Maryam Al Aqeel, said, “the demographic file is very important and the government has comments on the report that was drafted by the Human Resources Committee.”
She added, “the government considers not to vote on the law until the comments are agreed upon.”
One of the articles of the law states that the Cabinet of Ministers must issue a decision, within six months, that includes the number of maximum expats while taking into account the workforces as a whole, as well as the weight of each nationally separately.
According to Al Jarida, in the interest of maintaining the efficiency and quality of labour, the same article added a new commitment to establish a mechanism for testing employment to ensure the required qualifications, experience, specialization, professions and crafts in a manner that suits that country’s needs.
Another article addresses the need to reconcile the conditions of expats in excess of the needs of the labour market by setting a time restriction, estimated at five years, during which either the residency of the workers who are in excess are terminated or they are allowed to renew their residency in the event that conditions follow the executive regulations.
Emphasizing the importance of the demographic imbalance, an article stipulates that the decision should be reviewed annually and to ensure transparency the decisions should be published in the Official Gazette.
In terms of illegal permit holders, one of the articles indicated the procedures that would take place when laborers are leaked between the different sectors and the punishment that would be enforced on those that break the law.
Bankruptcy bill
As the National Assembly reaches the end of its four-year session on Thursday, MPs voted on various laws on which is the bankruptcy bill.
The approved bill is set to improve Kuwait’s competitiveness and ease business indices, the Minister of Commerce and Industry said on Tuesday.
The bill was approved by 35 of the 42 members present.
Kuwait Airways Joint Stock
The bill concerning turning Kuwait Airways Cooperation into a joint stock company was approved on Tuesday, in both the first and second deliberations, by all 46 present MPs.
The bill aims to comply with the rules and principles governing workers’ rights.
Upcoming and closing sessions
Wednesday and Thursdays sessions will discuss several laws although various MPs were not present as they have tested positive for COVID-19.
During Wednesday’s session, the National Assembly is set to vote on a no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister, Sheikh Sabah Al Khaled Al Sabah.
“If we do not finalize some laws during Tuesday and Wednesdays sessions, we have room on Thursday morning before the closing session. And if we finished, Thursday will be the closing session only,” Marzouq Al Ghanim, speaker of the National Assembly, said.
As per the Kuwaiti constitution, the National Assembly has a four-year term which is then followed by an election. The 2020 National Assembly election date has not been finalized but will likely happen on November 28.
