Need to limit flow of expats
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KUWAIT CITY, April 30: In light of the current crisis that has hit the country and its people due to the spread of COVID-19 and the consequent disruption of work in both public and private sectors, it has become necessary for concerned authorities in the state to take extraordinary measures and decisions. In the forefront of such entities is the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM).
These measures should include limiting the flow of expatriates into the labor market, which is already suffering from thousands of marginal workers that have imposed a formidable burden on the state and the population structure.
According to observers, first of these exceptional and urgent decisions is to either codify the issuance of work permits for migrant workers from abroad, or suspend the process until the end of this year, which is one of the options before the board of PAM.
This comes in light of the suspension of flights between Kuwait and most countries worldwide, and the protraction of the crisis which could stretch until the end of this year, as well as disruption of most jobs, and congestion of marginal workforce in many areas particularly those that have been isolated in order to contain the spread of coronavirus.
Observers highlight the stagnation of the private sector due to the precautionary measures taken by the state to limit the spread of the virus including closing shopping centers and commercial stores. Therefore, the sector should not face any more pressure by bringing more manpower that it cannot absorb currently or even in the near future.
This is necessary in order to avoid such manpower from transforming into marginal workforce and pose a threat to the security of the country especially under the current circumstances.
Observers stressed that PAM should limit issuance of work permits to only the vital activities in the country if it is unable to suspend issuance of work permits at all, provided the individuals being recruited from abroad hold specialized qualifications or best technical skills.
Regarding the mechanism for recruitment of companies for the implementation of government projects and contracts included in the developmental plan, the observers believe they remain unchanged, especially since the system in place allows their recruitment in stages.
Once the project stage is completed, they return to their countries, and then recruited again depending on the stage and the need of the project, especially with the large number of government projects that are currently being implemented and require thousands of specialized technical and professional workers to accomplish them.
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