KUWAIT CITY, April 22: The new private sector labor law took effect from the date of its publication in the official gazette (Feb 20, 2010), reports Al-Anba daily quoting Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Dr Mohammad Al-Afasi.
Clarifying that the previous law is no longer valid, Al-Afasi called on all private companies to abide by the stipulations of the new law. He stressed there is no excuse for the private sector to avoid application of the new law. He said some aspects of the law require the issuance of executive bylaws, which will be completed soon.
In another development, Al-Afasi has not discounted the possibility of reshuffling at the ministry any time as this is part of routine procedures. He affirmed the retirement of public servants after 30 years in services is in line with a directive from the Council of Ministers as this step will pave the way for the pumping of fresh blood in the sector.
The Comparative Law includes contradicting stipulations on staging labor strikes in government and private sectors, since there is no legal text which prohibits private sector workers from engaging in such activities, reports Al-Jarida daily quoting Constitutional expert Dr Mohammed Al-Feli.
Al-Feli clarified the international law specifies exceptional rules on staging labor strikes for government sector workers. He said countries which allow government sector workers to stage protest actions are still able to provide minimum standard of services, while respecting the rights of workers to air their grievances. 
He argued it is difficult to consider holding labor strikes a crime as it is governed by disciplinary rules. He went on to say that even if the companies take the necessary disciplinary action, the workers have right to express their opinions and protect their interests. He added the government should take these factors into consideration and provide the required facilities to the workers. He asserted the penalty should be in accordance with the harm done and it must be under the supervision of the judiciary.
The Civil Service Commission (CSC) recently called the attention of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs as it still employs more than 4,000 expatriates, who are above 50 years old, in its various departments, including the Holy Quran Dar, Islamic Studies and Al-Seraj Al-Muneer, reports Al-Qabas daily quoting sources.
Sources revealed a committee was formed during the tenure of Hussein Al-Huraiti to assess the functions of the employees in these departments and specify the number of staff that they actually need. The committee later confirmed there are a number of unnecessary workers in these departments but its recommendations have been disregarded. This led to the accumulation of employees in the ministry which, sources say, is an added burden to its budget. Sources added these departments are controlled by Islamic blocs which usually recruit many employees.