Kuwait Times, Sunday, Mar 12, 2023 | Sha'ban 20, 1444
KCCI discusses easy expat transfers within Kuwaiti market
Kuwait:
In the presence of the International Labor
Organization (ILO) and the International Organization of Employers (IOE), Kuwait
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the
issue of facilitating the transfer of expatriate workers within the Kuwaiti
market. The meeting complements efforts by KCCI along with ILO to deal with
challenges facing the Kuwaiti labor market, which were exposed by the COVID-19
pandemic and the current and future needs of the market, according to the KCCI
report.
The chamber stressed the issue of the transfer of expatriate labor within the
local market has two sides – those who agree with facilitating the transfer of
workers and increasing freedom of movement between employers, especially
considering the difficulty of recruiting new workers from abroad. On the other
hand, some believe that in light of competition between sectors, companies and
institutions to attract competencies and cover the shortage in the supply of
labor, controls should be put in place on transfers so that an employer does not
lose what he invested in his workers in terms of training, refining skills and
recruitment costs.
The meeting also discussed social protection for expatriate workers in Kuwait,
guaranteed by law no. 6 of 2010 regarding work in the private sector, which
protects the worker through many means, including the obligation to set a
minimum wage and giving a worker a period of three months worker before
terminating their services. It also spoke about end-of-service gratuity and
keenness of the Public Authority of Manpower and Kuwaiti banks to transfer
salaries to workers on the scheduled dates.
During the meeting, representatives of small and medium enterprises touched on
the difficulties they face regarding end-of-service benefits after the pandemic,
as the pandemic and its repercussions stopped the financial flows of many
projects that were just starting.
Meanwhile, KCCI declared it will issue a report including the results of what
has been discussed, as well as the results of a questionnaire that the chamber
previously distributed to its members in the last week of Feb 2023 to better
identify the views of companies in Kuwait regarding the issue of labor transfers
and the required reforms, in addition to getting acquainted with the opinion of
companies about the current social protection systems for expatriate workers.