Assembly’s new bill targets salary equality in public sector

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KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: The National Assembly Speaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun submitted a bill concerning the Kuwaiti employees of the public sector with the aim of enhancing justice among the national workers at different ministries, public institutions and subsidiaries.

According to article 1 of the bill, the Kuwaiti public sector workers covered by the regulations of the Civil Service Council will obtain salaries based on the average salary of their colleagues who are appointed according to special job regulations.

Al-Saadoun said it was discovered that some workers who are appointed according to special job regulations obtain much higher salaries than their counterparts who are appointed according to the Civil Services Council’s regulations.

He affirmed that the Council of Ministers will issue the executive regulations of the bill after consulting with the Civil Service Commission (CSC) within three months of ratifying the bill, adding that the budget needed for this bill will be covered by the National Reserve Fund.

Meanwhile, MP Muhammad Al-Mahan submitted parliamentary questions to the Minister of Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research Adel Al-Manee about the number of schools and teachers for every subject as well as their nationalities.

The lawmaker said he wanted to know the subjects for which there are less number of Kuwaiti teachers, the reasons behind such a low turnout, and the strategy of the ministry to address this issue.

He also wanted to know the rate of Kuwaitization of administrative jobs.

The lawmaker asked if the Ministry of Education coordinates with the Ministry of Higher Education, Kuwait University, Public Authority for Applied Education and Training, and CSC to encourage students to enroll for rare specialisations.

MP Al-Mahan also sent parliamentary questions to Al-Manee about the number of schools in Sabah Al-Salem Educational Zone.

He said he wanted to know the procedures taken by the Ministry of Education following the suspension of the construction of a secondary school for girls in Umm Al-Haiman due to construction errors.

MP Al-Mahan explained that the school has been suspended for years and it was supposed to contain 20 classrooms for grade 10 students who do not find places in other schools located in Umm Al Haiman.

He wanted to know the plan of the ministry to establish more schools at Umm Al-Haiman in order to reduce the suffering of students and their families.

The lawmaker said he received information about a number of schools in Ahmadi that have been closed for years in order to be demolished and then reconstructed.

He wanted to know the number of such schools and the reasons behind the delay in demolishing and reconstructing them.

Al-Mahan asked Al-Manee about the reasons behind the Ministry of Education’s delay in settling the cleaning contracts.

Furthermore, MP Dawood Marafie said Minister of Public Works Dr. Amani Sulaiman Buqamaz is conducting negotiations to fill positions in the ministry that have been vacant for a long time.

He warned against any attempt by Dr. Buqamaz to take advantage of filling the vacancies of senior positions to make quid pro quo with any of the lawmakers with the aim of gaining their support in the grilling motion he intended to file against her.

MP Marafie affirmed that he will expose any MP who may be involved in this matter, and he called upon His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to take adequate action towards the attempts of Dr. Buqamaz; otherwise, she will be subject to another grilling motion.

In another development, MP Abdulkareem Al-Kandari called upon his colleagues in the relevant parliamentary committee to carefully study the bill to be submitted by the government, represented by the Ministry of Information, on media law.

He asked them to consult specialists, activists and the relevant civil society organisations for this matter.

In this regard, MP Jenan Boushahri said it is too difficult to judge the bill on media law before reading it carefully in order to figure out the fine details included in it.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the parliament’s Financial and Economic Affairs Committee MP Shuaib Al-Muwaizri called for holding a series of meetings to hasten the completion of urgent bills.

The meetings are scheduled as follows:

Tuesday, September 26 – To discuss the bills on increasing the child allowance, living cost allowance, and the interests on loans granted to retirees.

Sunday, October 1 – To discuss the cancellation of privatization of Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) and the bill concerning the Kuwait Chamber for Commerce and Industry (KCCI)

Tuesday, October 3 – To discuss the bills on amending the law of Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), especially the articles concerning provision of loans to Kuwaiti public institutions. It will also discuss the bill on exempting families from paying the pending installments of the loans obtained from Kuwait Credit Bank after the beneficiary passes away.

In addition, the parliament’s Committee for Illegal Residents (Bedoun) Affairs held a meeting on Monday, September 25 during which they unanimously approved the bill on granting civil, social and job rights to Bedoun residents.

The Chairman of the committee MP Hani Shams said the approved bills are the result of the efforts exerted by MPs and relevant entities throughout several parliamentary terms.

He affirmed that these bills will put an end to the Bedoun issue, which lasted for more than 65 years.

MP Shams expressed his hope that the government will cooperate to ratify the bill in the upcoming parliamentary session/year.

By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh
Arab Times Staff

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