KUWAIT CITY, March 11: The Health and Social Affairs Committee on Monday rejected a government-proposed initiative that gives sole authority to a to-be-formed Public Authority for Labor Force to recruit from abroad workers for employers, said MP Hani Shams.

Shams explained that the committee objects to Article 3 of the public authority bill and “is convinced that employers should be responsible for recruiting those who will work for them and that the labor authority should only be responsible for supervising and organizing the work force.”

He added that the committee proposes that “the authority’s responsibility should be to assess the requirements of the employers and specializations needed, but that the employers recruit and bring in their employees.”

However, the committee approved Article 4 of the bill on the organizational structure of the public authority’s board of directors. The committee’s report in that regard, Shams said, has been put on the assembly’s agenda for deliberation and voting.

The National Assembly on Feb 5 unanimously approved a government proposed bill on the formation of a Public Authority for Labor Force in the first deliberation.

Article 3 of the public authority formation bill says that the authority will undertake the authorities granted to the Labor Ministry in the Private Sector Labor Law (6/2010). It will bring in, recruit and supervise the expatriate labor force in the private and oil sectors, formulate the procedures to establish labor unions and employer unions and formulate the procedures and rules for work permits and the authority’s fees.