08 August 2017

KUWAIT CITY: Ministry of Health’s announcement to exclude expatriate employees of the ministry from the new fees for medical services contradicts the essence of its rationalization policy, especially as it also excludes the families of expatriate employees of the ministry.

Quoting sources wondered if it’s acceptable for other ministries and official bodies to follow the same pattern and increase the cost of their services while excluding their expatriate employees.

They asked if the expatriate employees of other ministries share equal rights with their counterparts in the Health Ministry.

They stressed that millions of dinars will be depleted at a time when the State is pushing for rationalization due to the dependence on a single source of income coupled with unstable global oil prices.

They wanted to know who would pay the cost if the Ministry of Electricity and Water decided to exclude its expatriate employees from the new electricity and water prices or what will happen if the Ministry of Interior raises the fees for family visit visas and excluded its expatriate employees in violation of the constitution that stipulates equal rights.

They urged Ministry of Health to revise the decision because its expatriate employees constitute about 20,000 of the total 50,000 employees.

© Arab Times 2017