KUWAIT CITY, Feb 23: Private companies should not use the financial crisis as an excuse for depriving their workers of privileges stipulated in the new labor law, which took effect after its publication in the official gazette earlier this week, says Assistant Undersecretary for Legal Affairs at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor Jamal Al-Dowsari.
On the retroactive application of the law, Al-Dowsari confirmed the law covers the current and old contracts, but the employee has no right to demand benefits stipulated therein if he resigned before the publication of the law. He asserted workers with indefinite contracts, who intend to resign, should inform the employers in line with the law.
Advising workers to seek the assistance of the concerned authorities at the ministry in case their rights are violated, Al-Dowsari stated some articles of the law necessitate the issuance of executive bylaws after consulting the employer, workers and government. He said these bylaws, which concern the transfer and issuance of residence permits, as well as the issuance of a legal arrest warrant against an employee according to the new law, will take effect after six months as more time is needed to complete the modification and application procedures. He added the Legal Sector will enact these bylaws in the coming days in coordination with its labor counterpart.
Al-Dowsari went on to say the other articles, such as those concerning leaves, national holidays and contracts (limited and unlimited) should be enforced immediately after the publication of the law in the official gazette without any exemption. He asserted the new labor law is more binding than the contract but the latter will be enforced if it in contains more privileges.
Meanwhile, Chairperson of the General Union of Laborers and Kuwaiti Employees Khalid Al-Ghabeshan confirmed the new labor law serves the interests of workers as it has fixed the loopholes of the previous law and protects the employees in line with recommendations issued by the World Bank concerning salaries and increments.
Al-Ghabeshan believes the new labor law treats Kuwaiti and expatriate workers fairly as it protects democracy, freedom of expression, rights of employees, and helps push the wheels of development forward.
Moreover, Al-Watan Arabic daily has quoted Assistant Undersecretary for Labor Affairs Mansour Al-Mansour as saying that the demands of cleaning workers, who staged a protest action at a public hospital Sunday, are legal because the company has not paid their salaries.
After receiving information about the strike, Al-Mansour said he formed a technical team, which discussed the issue with the protesters and company officials. He affirmed the officials have promised to take the necessary measures to ensure the laborers receive their salaries on time. He added the public authority for manpower will be established soon to deal with labor related issues in a bid to address the problems of expatriate workers and to curb demonstrations. He disclosed the authority will include several sectors in charge of workers affairs and employment contracts.
Stating the ministry intends to reduce the number of expatriate workers in the country, Al-Mansour revealed several steps will be taken soon to regulate the labor market as the coming phase is regarded as a transition period before the establishment of the authority. He said the number of expatriate laborers entering the country annually had declined from 140,000 to 70,000.
Asked about workers on government contracts, Al-Mansour said the ministry has urged the Cabinet to reduce the number of personnel in the tenders by 25 percent due to the excessive number of laborers stipulated in such contracts. He asserted the country does not need a large number of workers to implement government projects.