Cairo: Kuwait’s labour authorities plan to set up a platform to register the country's stateless Bidoon seeking jobs in the private sector to replace expatriates, a local newspaper has reported, citing an official.
Head of the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) Ahmed Al Moussa said the Tayseer platform would be launched on Sunday in coordination with the Central Agency for Dealing with Illegal Residents, Al Qabas added.
“This platform aims to put this category of people in place of the expatriate labour to preserve the demographic make-up, safeguard their rights under the umbrella of law and give them the chance [for work] in a way commensurate with their qualifications and leanings,” he said in a press statement.
The official hailed private sector businesses for providing jobs through the new employment channel.
The Bidoon are estimated at around 85,000 people in Kuwait and have been at the centre of a decades-old identity problem. 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 fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
