Kuwait’s private sector faces new call to hire citizens

Kuwait’s Cabinet has been presented a new bill requesting an increase in the number of Kuwaitis private sector firms must hire in the 2018-2019 period, according to reports.

Kuwait Times cited Manpower and Government Restructuring Programme deputy director for national labour affairs Iman Al-Ansari as confirming plans to raise the Kuwaitisation requirement for businesses.

He said 4,775 citizens were employed in the private sector during the first quarter and there was a goal to create 10,000 jobs this fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2019.

The government is also planning to tender a survey to a consultancy firm regarding the country’s temporary labour force with the eventual goal of replacing foreigners in these roles.

These initiatives could help the government employ 17,000 workers in the private sector, sources told the publication.

There are currently around 13,500 citizens unemployed in the country.

The Civil Services Commission (CSC) separately said in August it planned to terminate more than 44,5000 foreign workers in the government sector and replace them with citizens in the coming years.

Read: Kuwait aims to replace 44,500 foreign gov workers with citizens

In addition, the country’s central bank has instructed local lenders to increase the percentage of Kuwaiti’s in their workforce to 80 per cent by the end of the year resulting in up to 17,000 foreign workers being replaced.

Read: Kuwait’s banks to cut 17,000 foreign workers