02/09/2025
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02/09/2025
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KUWAIT CITY, Sept 2: A recent oil document revealed a decline in the number of Kuwaitis employed under contractor contracts with Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and its subsidiaries by 246 within a year -- 5,236 in the first quarter of 2025, compared to 5,482 in the same period last year. The document indicated that the Kuwaitization rate reached 23 percent last year, but declined to 20 percent in the first quarter of this year.
This confirms that the private oil companies providing services to KPC and its subsidiaries have not implemented the decision of the corporation requiring these private oil companies to adhere to the agreed-upon Kuwaitization rate. The document attributed the reluctance of some employees to accept positions to several factors, as these companies no longer meet their aspirations, and they suffer from not being granted the same job benefits as the employees in other KPC-affiliated oil companies.
Oil sources revealed to the newspaper that KPC is currently studying a file related to the rights of nationals working in the oil sector to fulfill their demands. Sources disclosed that this file includes increasing the Kuwaitization percentage in private companies to 60 percent, instead of 30 percent, especially since the total number of nationals working in the private oil sector is around 13,000 -- both within and outside Kuwaitization contracts.
Sources pointed out that if KPC approves and ratifies this study, a copy of which was obtained by the newspaper, it will eliminate the problems of national labor in the private oil sector, in line with the directive of the State to encourage citizens to work in the private sector to create more job opportunities for nationals to work under government contracts, to gain experience, develop technical skills, and achieve continuity and flexibility.
Sources said the study has several essential points, the most important of which are: obligating the contractor not to infringe on the rights and benefits of Kuwaiti workers, not to delay their salaries or abuse promotions and evaluations, and not to withhold their job benefits as per the executive regulations, such as the annual increase and annual bonus. Sources added that the lack of housing is also one of the problems that still exist.
The study stressed the need to include nationals working in the private oil sector in the health insurance policy for the oil sector by obligating the contractors to sign contracts with insurance companies and identify companies with a good reputation in the Kuwaiti market, as the total cost of insurance contracts is determined in advance, along with the need to reconsider the value of the insurance policy for the current allocations to obtain the best medical services. Also, Kuwait Gulf Oil Company (KGOC) is obligated to implement the executive regulations for national labor under contractor contracts in the joint Wafra operations.
The memorandum stipulates the necessity of issuing a decision to obligate the contractor to transfer the salary of Kuwaiti employees into the designated bank accounts on a certain date of the month in which they are due, and not to delay the payment of salaries and any financial dues and benefits of any kind. If the contractor delays implementing the transfer of salaries on the specified date, the Kuwaitization Department is obligated to pay the salaries of Kuwaiti employees and apply an annual deduction for contractors who are not committed to paying the financial dues, especially since some drilling companies have not paid their financial dues for a period of up to 10 years.
By Najeh Bilal
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff
