MPs nod to labor law bills – 30 days paid annual leave in first year; Full indemnity to be paid ending service

KUWAIT CITY, June 6: The Parliament, in its regular session on Tuesday, approved the report of the Health, Social and Labor Affairs Committee on two bills amending some provisions of the Private Sector Labor Law Number 6/2010 in their first and second readings. A total of 40 MPs voted in favor of both bills in the first reading, while all 42 MPs who attended session voted for the proposals in the second reading.

The amended law states that “a worker is entitled to full end-of-service remuneration (indemnity) upon ending his service without deducting the amount paid by the employer for the worker’s contribution to the Public Authority for Social Security during the duration of his employment.”

The revised law also stipulates that “a worker has the right to a 30-day paid annual leave in the first year of service provided he completed at least six months under the employer. As in the case of employees in the government sector; the weekend holidays, public holidays and sick leave days shall not be counted as part of annual holidays.”

In addition, the Parliament approved bills on granting allowances and bonuses to Kuwaiti teaching staff in the ministries of Education, Awqaf and Islamic Affairs.

Meanwhile, the Parliament rejected the Public Prosecution’s request to lift the immunity of MPs Waleed Al-Tabtabaei and Ahmed Al-Fadel. Al-Tabtabaei is accused of participating in the gathering in front of the Egyptian Embassy; whereas Al-Fadel is involved in two cases: Audio-Visual (Press) Misdemeanor case number 26/2016 and another case filed by some advertising staff at the Ministry of Justice Moreover, the Parliament endorsed the letter of some MPs on giving mandate to the Public Funds Protection Committee to investigate the Capital Markets Authority and extend its work period until the beginning of the next legislative round.

Minister of Commerce and Industry and acting Minister of State for Youth Affairs Khalid Al-Rawdan confirmed his trust in the efficiency and integrity of the Capital Markets Authority personnel and the Public Funds Protection Committee as a commission of inquiry tasked to determine if there are irregularities in the authority. He stressed the government does not tolerate falsification of records and it is ready to present all the necessary information to the committee.

He added, “The government is not hiding any information. If the National Assembly sees leniency in any government agency, we have no objection to investigating the matter with emphasis on our confidence in the competence and integrity of workers in these agencies”. The Parliament endorsed as well a letter from Public Funds Protection Committee Chairman MP Shuaib Al- Muwaizri requesting for extension of the committee’s work period until the beginning of the next round as an investigative commission tasked to look into the financial and administrative irregularities in the Information Ministry.

It approved a letter from MP Salah Khoursheed, head of the commission of inquiry looking into anomalies in the Health Ministry, requesting for extension of the committee’s work period until the beginning of the next legislative round. It approved a letter from MP Abdullah Al-Roumi, head of the commission of inquiry investigating the disappearance of containers, to extend the commission’s work period until the beginning of the next legislative round.

On the other hand, the Parliament rejected a letter from Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and Information Minister Sheikh Mohamed Abdullah Al-Sabah requesting postponement of the response to the question referred to in the letter for three months pursuant to Article 124 of the parliamentary bylaws.

It also rejected a letter from Chairman of Culture, Education and Guidance Committee MP Mohammed Al- Huwailah as a commission of inquiry to extend its work on issues mentioned in the letter until the beginning of the next legislative round. In the meantime, the lawmakers praised the letters of his Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- Jaber Al-Sabah and HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al- Jaber Al-Sabah thanking the speaker and members of the Assembly for greeting them on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan.

By Abubakar A. Ibrahim Arab Times Staff