KUWAIT CITY, March 20: MP Nabil Al-Fadhel has presented a draft bill on the right of public and private sector employees to hold protest actions.

Article Three of the bill states that employees should not go on strike unless the following steps and procedures are taken:

•  The employees or their representatives from the workers union or public interest society should present their demands in writing through a special delegation from the Justice Ministry or directly to the employer.
• The employer must be given a grace period of 60 days, starting from the day of receiving the letter, to study and respond to the demands of the workers.
• If the employer did not respond after the end of the grace period or if he rejected the demands; the employees or their representatives should request, through the Ministry of Justice, for a meeting with officials of the company or institutions to discuss their demands and the reasons for rejection. The employer should be granted a grace period of 30 days from the date of receiving the meeting request.
• If the 30-day grace period ended and the employer did not respond or hold a meeting that yielded satisfactory results for both sides; the employees or their representatives from the union or non-profitable society should forward a letter to the Administration of Strike, formed and supervised by the Cabinet. The administration must be given a grace period of 60 days, starting from the date of receiving this letter.
• If the grace period ended and the administration did not respond to the letter or the demands or it responded but failed to achieve the employees’ demands or unable to convince both parties to have an amicable settlement, the employees or their representatives have the right to address the employers and the administration, through a representative at the Ministry of Justice, to go on strike 15 days after receiving the letter about the strike.

Article Five stipulates that after following all the steps and procedures specified in the previous article, the employees can go on strike under the following conditions:

• The employees should go on partial strike for a month only after the end of the 15-day notice period.
• If the employer or the administration did not respond to the demands of protesters a month after the partial strike, the workers have the right to organize a full-scale protest action.
• In both cases, the employees or their representatives from the union should prepare separate lists of employees, who wish to participate in a partial or total strike, to be forwarded to the employer; in addition to specifying the date and venue of the protest action.

Article Six states a partial or full strike should be subject to the following:

• The strike must be peaceful and it is not permissible to use force or violence or carry weapons of any kind, and it is not permissible to destroy items or properties of employers (work site).
• The protesters have no right to prevent non-striking employees from performing the same work they do or any other work.
• It is not permissible for protesters to prevent the employer from working with other employees in and outside the work site, even those who are not working for the employer, and these workers should be treated as actual employees.
• The protesters have no right to demand payment of salary for the days they went on strike, if the action is full-scale, even if they have proof like the fingerprint attendance system or any other method of showing they reported for work on those days.
• The protesters are entitled to half of the salary for the days they went on strike, if the action is partial, even if they have proof like the fingerprint attendance system or any other method of showing they reported for work on those days.
• In case of failure to abide by the conditions set forth in Article Four or in the absence of the lists of workers who wish to participate in partial or full-scale strike, the employer has the right to neglect the demands of the workers, refer them for interrogation, stop them from working, and punish them according to the law.
• The protesters have the right to raise placards to express their demands but they should not include statements deemed offensive to other people, including the employer, or harm the higher interests of the State or the employer. In case of violation, the erring workers will be referred for interrogation, suspended from work or face criminal charges.
• It is not permissible for the employer or anybody to punish the workers if they have not done anything against the provisions of this bill.
• It is not permissible for the protesters or their representatives from the union to use physical or moral force to compel the non-striking employees to participate in the protest.
• It is not permissible for people outside the company or institution to participate in the strike and this includes the employees who are associated with the same work and the same job description even if they are from a different work place. This exception does not apply to workers in the private sector.
• The striking workers in the private sector, once they are committed to the provisions of this bill, have no right to terminate their labor contracts. In case of violation, they will be punished according to the laws governing their contracts and the penalties stated therein.
• It is not permissible for the employer to use physical or moral force to prevent employees from holding a strike or dissuade them from continuing it.
• It is not permissible for employees to go on strike unless for the purpose of protecting their professional interests or demanding for their financial or other rights related to the performance of their duties, and the strike should be stopped if it is for political, sectarian or racial reasons.

Article 15 stipulates that the striking workers or one of them have the right to end their strike any time even if their demands were not fully met.

Article 16 states that the employer can promise to achieve all or some of the protesters’ demands. The promise should be in written form.

In light of the information attributed to Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor that it is taking measures to cut the number of expatriate workers in Kuwait by 100,000 annually, the plan has been praised by some lawmakers but urged it should be done in a well-organized manner taking into account the rights of the expatriates and sovereignty of Kuwait.

MP Abdullah Al-Tameemi told the Arab Times he supports the measures which the ministry plans to adopt because it will help solve the demographic problem facing the country. He added the measures should be well-planned and not taken randomly.

He said the country is a victim of high rate of crimes committed by the expatriates compared to citizens. He added, “It is illogical for a country to have more expatriates than the citizens.” He put the figure at nine to one.

He said if the ministry plan is implemented it will reduce crime and solve the problem of traffic congestion and unemployment among citizens.

He added Kuwait has the right to adopt such measures and reminded even the developed countries have taken measures to reduce the number of expatriates in their countries.

Member of the Human Rights Committee of the National Assembly MP Abdul-Rahman Al-Jeeran has called on the ministry to shed light on how it takes to implement these measures without hurting the rights of the expatriate workers and at the same time protecting the sovereignty of Kuwait.

According to the state media (KUNA), Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Zhikra Al-Rashidi said Tuesday her ministry was taking necessary measures to reduce the number of foreign workers in Kuwait by 100,000 annually.

She added: “The strategy envisages bringing down the total number of expatriate workers to only one million in 10 years.”

“It’s part of the Ministry’s efforts to regulate the labor market, curb the phenomenon of marginal labor and restore the demographic equilibrium of the country,” she explained.

In a related issue, MP Abdullah Al-Tameemi last month presented a draft proposal on how to reduce the size of expatriate workers particularly those who are unskilled. He suggested the following steps:

• Issuance of a strict and crystal clear decision by the Cabinet obligating all government and private establishments to comply with it.
• Stipulation of the percentage of expatriates, so that their total number does not exceed 50 percent of the number of the citizens.
• Specifying the percentage for big communities in the country by 100,000 people for every nationality. This clause should limit to only three nationalities maximum.
• Setting non-renewable residence permit for the average technicians with 7 years and for skilled technicians 10 years.
• The condition is not applicable for workers of rare specializations since they would be granted only 15 years residence permit on condition they train Kuwaitis in this specialization.
• Taking deterrent measures against the institutions and individuals who contribute to the spread of unskilled workers and violation of labor law. They should be fined between KD 15,000 and KD 100,000. This is in addition to other punitive measures.
• Limiting the issuance of business entry visas to business men, capital-owners and holders of doctorate degree certificates.
• Installation of eye-scanning security verification to prevent the return of anyone who uses a forged passport.
• Forming a consultative committee to set legal opinion for granting entry visas or residence permit for expatriates.
• Setting a timetable to implement this proposal immediately after its approval and obliging the government to execute it within six months.

On another issue, MPs Faisal Al-Kandari, Taher Al-Failakawi, Nasser Al-Murri, Hamad Al-Harshani and Bader Al-Bazali have presented a proposal for the establishment of public authority for charity work to supervise the activities of the Kuwait Red Crescent Society, the Zakat House and all charity committees, societies, foundations and civil society institutions doing charity work.

According to the proposal the authority would also determine how to disburse charity to citizens first and then to residents before sending any money outside Kuwait.

The same MPs including Mishari Al-Husseini and Adnan Al-Mutawa have presented a proposal to upgrade Kuwaiti islands and link the Failaka Island with a bridge and other islands with fast ferryboats service and transform them into commercial, cultural, artistic and touristic centers.