KUWAIT CITY, June 9: Employers are not allowed to reduce the salaries stipulated in the work permits of their employees, reports Al-Qabas daily quoting Assistant Undersecretary for Labor Affairs at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor Mansour Al-Mansour.
Al-Mansour issued two circulars recently on the implementation of the new labor law in the private sector.
In one of the circulars, Al-Mansour instructed all labor departments and their respective heads to be committed to the stipulations of employment contracts signed by the employers and employees, whether the latter arrived in Kuwait on a work or visit visa or was hired from the country of origin. He stressed the need to honor the provisions of the contracts during the renewal of work permits, especially the salary clause as the employers have no right to reduce the salary mentioned in the contract.
Affirming the law has been issued to regulate the labor market in the non-government sector, as well as eliminate preferential treatment and discrimination, Al-Mansour issued another circular, calling on the department heads and supervisors to strictly comply with the ministry’s directives and the law to ensure the legality of all transactions.
“We noticed many employers demanding exemption from the rules on updating their data prior to the processing of their transactions, such as the issuance, renewal or transfer of work permits, and salary transfer, during the initial stage of the implementation of the automated system,” Al-Mansour revealed.
On the other hand, sources said Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Dr Mohammad Al-Afasi is expected to issue several decisions on regulating procedures for the recruitment of expatriate workers in the private sector in accordance with Article 7 of the new labor law. Sources added these decisions will also specify the conditions for the workers’ transfer from one sponsor to another.
Sources disclosed the ministry intends to issue a directive every five years to specify salaries and financial privileges according to the circumstances within each period as per the stipulations of Article 63 of the new law.