KUWAIT CITY, March 20: A report on a ministerial decision to cut expats by 100,000 every year Wednesday coincided with Arab Times’ online weekly poll, which surveyed people’s opinions on the effect of nationalization in Kuwait.

A majority of voters, 26%, said a drastic reduction in the number of expatriates from the job market will lead to an erosion of valuable experience. Respondents said all sectors will be heavily hit, including service, realty, financial, banking and oil sectors among others.

With the latest announcement, it looks like there is going to be a massive drain of expatriate labor force from Kuwait than ever, they added.

About 19 percent of the voters feared unfair job losses when nationalization moves into full drive. “It is understandable that the government is trying to help its people, and that’s how all responsible states should be. However, when reforms are too sudden and drastic, it is bound to step on the toes of a lot of people. There is a high chance that a great many people will be deprived of their fundamental right to a decent existence.”

Many respondents said that probably initiating the change in a more gradual way would cause less damage to everybody. “Instead of devising ways of throwing out those already employed, the government can look at closing the doors on new foreign recruitments,” they noted.

The legislators should also consider the impact of a sudden drop in expatriate population on the Kuwaiti economy. About 18 % of the voters felt that reducing the strength of expatriates in the country will hit the economy badly.

“Several businesses in Kuwait are thriving well, thanks to the high number of expatriates in the country. Imagine what would happen to the housing rents if 100,000 expatriates leave the country all of a sudden every year.

“And if we are talking of creating opportunities for Kuwaitis, we for sure are not looking at getting rid of maids, cooks, gardeners, tea boys, watchmen and such like. The axe is going to fall on expatriates holding clerical level jobs and above, who form the majority of tenants in Kuwait.”

The respondents were arguing that cutting expatriate population in the state would deal a blow to the economy of the state. “Take for example the telecom sector. When you have fewer people using mobile connections, telecom businesses are negatively affected, leading to fewer job opportunities in that sector. This could undermine the whole purpose of the nationalization exercise, as job opportunities will fall.”

Others opined that strengthening the Kuwaiti human resource through adequate training to compete in the job market would be the ideal solution, so that productive manpower wins the race to the benefit of the nation.

About 8 percent of the votes felt that such a move will not affect expatriates in a big way, because a majority of expatriates in Kuwait belong to the unskilled labor category. “These people will not lose their jobs.”

5 percent said that cutting expatriate workforce will place greater responsibilities on the Kuwaiti employees, who will become more productive.

About 24 percent of the voters felt that with economies in Asia picking up, there is already a growing demand for human resource in these countries, where a great chunk of the expatriates come from. “This leaves us in a state of less panic, because there’s hope.”