30 December 2009
KUWAIT: Private sector officials said yesterday that Kuwaitis make up more than 50 percent of the number of employees of many local companies. On the sidelines of the 6th job opportunities exhibition, head of the human resources team at the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) Imad Al-Ablani said that the bank hired about 430 Kuwaitis in 2009, increasing the percentage of Kuwaitis of the total number of its employees to more than 61 percent. On his part, head of the employment and manpower planning department at Kuwait Finance House (KFH) Jamal Al-Whaib said that the percentage of Kuwaitis of the total number of the bank's employees exceeded 60 percent in 2009.
Meanwhile, public relations and media executive officer at EQUATE Petrochemical Company Ali Al-Hamad said that the company aims by taking part in the exhibition to focus on sustainable development through attracting Kuwaitis with high abilities. He said the company, which has international activities, has employees from more than 20 countries, adding that 55 percent of them are Kuwaitis.
In the meantime, director of the human resources and administrative services department at Wataniya Telecom Majdi Ghannam pointed out that Kuwaitis make up 56 percent of the company's employees. Director of the public relations and media department at the Manpower and Government Restructuring Program (MGRP) Abdulaziz Al-Qassar said that the exhibition, which held for the sixth year in a row, assists people in finding job opportunities in the private sector.
He said that banks and investment, services, and industrial companies are taking part in the exhibition which will conclude today. According to statistics issued recently by the he Public Authority For Civil Information (PACI), the rate of employing of Kuwaitis in the private sector continued growing, increasing 16 percent in 2008.
The rate exceeded that of the employment of Kuwaitis in the public sector, the statistics showed. They revealed that Kuwaitis made up 17.8 percent of the total number of employees in the private sector, triple the number in 2000 when the law of supporting Kuwaiti employees in the private sector was activated.
In another development, participants at a recent seminar held by the Manpower and Government Restructuring Program (MGRP) where the national labor support law was discussed, expressed disappointment with the Cabinet. They complained of financial privileges being accorded exclusively to citizens who work with the public sector, while ignoring private sector employees.
Furthermore, participants agreed that the culture of 'wealth distribution' that the government promotes at the public sector, considerably undermines the basis of the national labor support law, thereby damaging the work undertaken by the MGRP.
Former Minister of Commerce and Industry, Ahmad Baqer, accused the Parliament and the Cabinet of failing to realize the magnitude of the problem that the country's labor market faces. He added that international researches conducted on the problem had identified the reasons as the disproportionate representation of national manpower in the private sector. He asserted the importance of two main points that were included in the 'Tony Blair Report,' notably the demographic imbalance and potential financial problems.
Baqer urged that the rules of the national manpower support law be adhered to by encouraging more citizens to work at the private sector, simultaneously taking stringent measures to reduce dependence on expatriate manpower, reported Al-Qabas. Also, Legal Affairs Supervisor at the MGRP, Umaimah Abdullah admitted to the presence of certain obstacles that hinder the enforcement of the said law, adding that the government aggravates the problem by providing more privileges to national laborers employed at public firms.
KUWAIT: Private sector officials said yesterday that Kuwaitis make up more than 50 percent of the number of employees of many local companies. On the sidelines of the 6th job opportunities exhibition, head of the human resources team at the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) Imad Al-Ablani said that the bank hired about 430 Kuwaitis in 2009, increasing the percentage of Kuwaitis of the total number of its employees to more than 61 percent. On his part, head of the employment and manpower planning department at Kuwait Finance House (KFH) Jamal Al-Whaib said that the percentage of Kuwaitis of the total number of the bank's employees exceeded 60 percent in 2009.
Meanwhile, public relations and media executive officer at EQUATE Petrochemical Company Ali Al-Hamad said that the company aims by taking part in the exhibition to focus on sustainable development through attracting Kuwaitis with high abilities. He said the company, which has international activities, has employees from more than 20 countries, adding that 55 percent of them are Kuwaitis.
In the meantime, director of the human resources and administrative services department at Wataniya Telecom Majdi Ghannam pointed out that Kuwaitis make up 56 percent of the company's employees. Director of the public relations and media department at the Manpower and Government Restructuring Program (MGRP) Abdulaziz Al-Qassar said that the exhibition, which held for the sixth year in a row, assists people in finding job opportunities in the private sector.
He said that banks and investment, services, and industrial companies are taking part in the exhibition which will conclude today. According to statistics issued recently by the he Public Authority For Civil Information (PACI), the rate of employing of Kuwaitis in the private sector continued growing, increasing 16 percent in 2008.
The rate exceeded that of the employment of Kuwaitis in the public sector, the statistics showed. They revealed that Kuwaitis made up 17.8 percent of the total number of employees in the private sector, triple the number in 2000 when the law of supporting Kuwaiti employees in the private sector was activated.
In another development, participants at a recent seminar held by the Manpower and Government Restructuring Program (MGRP) where the national labor support law was discussed, expressed disappointment with the Cabinet. They complained of financial privileges being accorded exclusively to citizens who work with the public sector, while ignoring private sector employees.
Furthermore, participants agreed that the culture of 'wealth distribution' that the government promotes at the public sector, considerably undermines the basis of the national labor support law, thereby damaging the work undertaken by the MGRP.
Former Minister of Commerce and Industry, Ahmad Baqer, accused the Parliament and the Cabinet of failing to realize the magnitude of the problem that the country's labor market faces. He added that international researches conducted on the problem had identified the reasons as the disproportionate representation of national manpower in the private sector. He asserted the importance of two main points that were included in the 'Tony Blair Report,' notably the demographic imbalance and potential financial problems.
Baqer urged that the rules of the national manpower support law be adhered to by encouraging more citizens to work at the private sector, simultaneously taking stringent measures to reduce dependence on expatriate manpower, reported Al-Qabas. Also, Legal Affairs Supervisor at the MGRP, Umaimah Abdullah admitted to the presence of certain obstacles that hinder the enforcement of the said law, adding that the government aggravates the problem by providing more privileges to national laborers employed at public firms.
© Kuwait Times 2009
