Kuwait stops hiring foreigners in oil sector

Kuwait News Agency quoted the Oil Minister.

Kuwait City: The prominent OPEC member will no more offer jobs to expatriates in its oil sector. As one of the steps towards reducing the number of foreigners in the country, non-Kuwaiti nationals will not be hired at Kuwait Petroleum Corporation – Kuwait News Agency reported. The agency quoted this from Kuwait’s Oil Minister Khaled Al Fadhel. Clearly, Kuwait does not want to be an expat-majority nation.

Kuwait Prime Minister Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah earlier stated that the country’s expatriate population should be reduced more than half, to 30 percent. He said, this is an inevitable step for the financial stability of the country as the oil price kept on decreasing and above all, the crisis came up due to the global pandemic. Foreigners account for nearly 3.4 million of Kuwait’s 4.8 million population, and “we have a future challenge to redress this imbalance,” Sheikh Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah said.

Kuwait in the global crisis:

With the economy under strain from the corona virus pandemic and a slump in oil prices, the comments followed a renewed push by lawmakers. Al Fadhel said, “Evenif Covid-19 crisis has affected globally, we cannot stand ‘hand-cuffed’ towards those wanting to lay off Kuwaiti workers from oil companies. The price of the oil for barrel dropped during this crisis due to the market glut and the decrease in demand,” he was quoted as saying. However, he cited signs of recovery in the oil market, saying that prices have picked up. “The oil sector should not be the only source for income,” Al Fadhel told a parliamentary meeting with owners of small and medium-scale enterprises. The minister underlined the importance of the private sector’s engagement in boosting the Kuwaiti economy.

Quota system for employees:

The past week in Kuwait witnessed the uproar of several Kuwaitis including celebrities by which they accused the expatriate workers for increasing the Covid fatalities and diminishing the health framework of the country. A bill was introduced in the Parliament pointing out the development of quota system for employees in Kuwait. This draft bill, says that the quota system will solve the demographic imbalance in the country. According to the proposed quota system, the numbers of Indian workers should not exceed 15 per cent of the overall Kuwaiti population while those of Egyptian expatriates should stand at a maximum 10 per cent. Indians and Egyptians make up the largest foreign communities in Kuwait.

The draft bill accused that the demographic imbalance has been there in the recent years and is now conspicuous with the corona epidemic crisis. Noting that the numbers of some foreign communities are nearing those of Kuwaitis, the lawmakers said their draft law sets the maximum limits for each community versus the Kuwaiti population and bans bringing any individual from such communities into Kuwait if their numbers have exceeded their designated quotas.

In April, Kuwait ministry introduced a pardon offer for all its illegal migrants that tempted them to leave the country. The plan offered them no any legal actions as well as free flight ticket to their homeland.