KUWAIT CITY, Aug 9: “There are no plans to grant August month salaries to public sector employees before Ramadan,” Al-Seyassah daily quoted sources close to the Minister of Finance Mustafa Al-Shamali as saying. Sources in a number of banks also affirmed that they did not receive any instructions from the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) to transfer salaries early. There were reports that government employees will be paid August month salaries before Ramadan and September salaries before Eid Al-Fitr. Rumors were also doing rounds that the government will grant a sum equal to one month’s salary to all Kuwaiti employees in the public sector before Ramadan. “These are just baseless rumors that are usually floated during such occasions,” stated sources.

Meanwhile, the government is planning to raise the basic salaries of civilian employees working in the ministries of Defense and Interior, the National Guard and the Directorate General for Fire Services. “Authorities are still studying how much increment to grant and once it is decided, they will submit a report to the Cabinet,” said sources.
Military employees were recently granted a hike and the government had been expecting lawmakers to demand a similar increment to civilian employees, said sources, adding the issue will be tackled during the next parliamentary term.
Sources also mentioned that there was a big difference between the salaries of civilian employees and their military counterparts due to the ‘risk allowance’ that is granted to the latter. “The proposed increment will help bridge the gap to some extent,” they added.