KUWAIT CITY, Sept 1: The General Immigration Department has not received any official instruction to study the possibility of increasing the salary ceiling for the issuance of family or dependent visa, reports Al-Anba daily quoting sources.

Sources confirmed the salary ceiling for family or dependent visa is still KD 250. Sources said the department has not been instructed by Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud, Undersecretary Lieutenant General Ghazi Al-Omar and acting Assistant Undersecretary for Citizenship and Passports Affairs Major General Abdullah Al-Rashid to look into the economic and security aspects of the proposal to increase the salary ceiling.

On the decision to ban certain nationalities (six) from entering Kuwait, sources affirmed the decision remains in effect but it is not absolute. They explained a directive has been issued to impose stricter procedures for security reasons.

Earlier, the Kuwait Trade Union Federation (KTUF) outrightly rejected the reported plan of the Interior Ministry to increase the salary cap for expatriate workers to obtain dependent visas to KD 500, reports Al-Rai daily quoting KTUF Secretary-General Abdulrahman Al-Ghanim.

According to the union, this is not the right way to curb the rising number of unskilled expatriate workers in the country, indicating the appropriate solutions include the cancellation of the sponsorship system and establishment of a public manpower authority.

Al-Ghanim pointed out the union has repeatedly warned about the dire consequences of the lopsided population structure. He said the union has stressed the importance of laying down a long-term national strategy to balance the population.

Reiterating that the union is against the proposed increase in the salary cap, Al-Ghanim expressed his disappointment on the re-emergence of the issue. He believes the lawmakers provoked the Cabinet to push for the implementation of the proposal when they asked the latter to consider the studies conducted by the union years ago. He added the expatriates have the right to enjoy the comforts of life but they should also contribute to the development of the nation, instead of committing crimes.

Al-Ghanim emphasized the need to cancel the sponsorship system and establish the public manpower authority in line with the stipulations of the new labor law in the private sector to put an end to the malpractices of those who bring marginal workers into the country. He attributed the rising rate of masked unemployment, immoral activities and security cases to the increasing number of unskilled workers.
In another development, Al-Ghanim called for the immediate enactment of a law on domestic labor to stop the abusive acts of the owners of domestic labor offices. He said there are around 750,000 domestic workers in Kuwait; hence, the need to reduce this number by weaning citizens off their total dependence on household workers.

He also suggested the implementation of manpower development programs to enhance the skills of Kuwaiti graduates for them to gain a competitive edge in the labor market.