KUWAIT CITY, April 3: Speculations are rife on the intention of the Higher Council for Planning to submit a request to the Cabinet on the suspension of salary increments for at least five years to prevent further depletion of the national budget - a large percentage of which goes to salaries, as tension escalates in the government sector due to controversies surrounding the pay scales of employees, reports Al-Seyassah daily quoting sources.
State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Roudhan Al-Roudhan disclosed Deputy Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Dr Mohammad Al-Sabah will chair the meeting of Civil Service Commission Council on Thursday. He said the council will discuss the proposed salary scales in the government sector to finalize a report which will be forwarded to the Cabinet.  However, sources said there is no intention to approve any separate salary scale for workers in government institutions.
Meanwhile, a reliable source from the government has unveiled the authority’s plan to conduct a study on the proposed implementation of a unified mechanism for each field of specialization or holders of a particular academic certificate. He said a fixed annual increment will be specified for each specialization, including the holders of secondary certificates.
In the meantime, the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee at the Parliament will meet on Sunday and Monday to discuss the proposed amendments to the Social Security Law and annual plan respectively, in the presence of Deputy Premier for Economic Affairs and State Minister for Housing and Development Affairs Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahd, reports Al-Seyassah.
Committee member MP Khalid Al-Sultan clarified the panel will focus on the expansion of Kuwait International Airport and Al-Zour power station project. He pointed out the executive and legislative authorities had earlier agreed on the implementation of the Al-Zour project through the BOT system, but the government has allegedly disregarded the agreement.
On the other hand, member of the Budgets and Final Audit Committee Naji Al-Abdulhadi affirmed the panel has discussed the ideas of several government authorities but it is still waiting for a report from its financial and economic affairs counterpart to see if the annual program is in line with the development plan of the country.