KUWAIT CITY, Sept 22: Experts from legal departments at the public sector held a demonstration in front of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) headquarters recently demanding a change of job titles to suit their academic qualifications just like their counterparts working in Fatwa and Legislative Department, General Investigations Department and Kuwait Municipality. The demonstrators criticized some lawmakers for allegedly neglecting their cause, because they failed to turn up at the rally as promised.

Addressing the protesters, the Chairperson of CSC Abdulaziz Al-Zeben denounced the closure of entry and exit points to the premises that obstructed smooth workflow and denied officials the opportunity to attend to visitors. He said “I understand your agitation, but it’s beyond my power to execute it, because the final decision is with the Civil Service Commission”. The protesters were displeased with the statement, as he returned to his office with pressure from representatives of the trade union to dialogue with him. The union leaders held discussions with Al-Zeben for about 15 minutes and came out disappointed after they couldn’t reach any compromise. They urged their members to continue with the demonstration until the government responded positively.

According to the Chairperson of Legal Experts Union Hamad Al-Wardan, Al-Zeben maintained the commission alone could solve the problem, because he doesn’t have the prerogative to make a final decision, and the union has decided that the demonstration would continue until their demands are met.
Al-Wardan announced that their members from the Justice Ministry or Social Affairs and Labor Ministry would carry out the next demonstration. He added they have legal rights to demonstrate at various government premises, so they wouldn’t desist until they are satisfied. He criticized the position taken by some state officials like the Undersecretary of Justice Ministry Abdul-Aziz Al-Majid and Deputy Director of the Public Authority for Social Insurance Khalid Al-Fadhalah toward protesters.