'1,103,366 Expatriates Working In Private Sector'

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 3

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor will soon lift the ban on the issuance of work permits for certain sectors, such as the joint stock companies, holding companies, goldsmiths and gatekeepers of investment buildings, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily quoting Assistant Undersecretary for Labor Affairs Jamal Al-Dousari.

Revealing that the ministry had earlier exempted 50 sectors from the decision, Al-Dousari explained this step is part of efforts to curb the growing population of marginal workers in the country and to regulate the labor market.  He said most of those covered by the decision are companies whose manpower needs can be addressed through local recruitment.  

In another development, Al-Jarida daily has quoted sources as saying that the Cabinet has instructed the ministry to look into the alleged violations committed by some charity organizations in the collection of donations during Ramadan.

Monitor  
Sources disclosed the committee tasked to monitor the activities of charity organizations had been asked to submit a report on the donation campaigns carried out during the holy month to uncover the irregularities.  

Meanwhile, a total of 1,103,366 expatriates are currently employed in the private sector -- 92.06 percent are men and 7.94 percent are women, reports Al-Qabas daily quoting results of a study conducted by the Central Administration for Statistics.

The study also showed that as of June 2011, 18.75 percent of the expatriate workers in the private sector are below 30 years old; 65.1 percent are between 30 to 49 years old, 3.58 percent are 60 years old and above, and 0.01 percent belong to the 15-19 age group.

On the civil status of the workers, the study revealed 82.88 percent are married and the divorced or widowed constitute 0.13 percent of the expatriate workforce.  

In addition, 77.39 percent of the married workers are men, while 16.56 percent of the unmarried workers are men and 21.91 percent are women. Among the divorcees, men constitute 0.69 percent of the total number and 0.08 percent for the women. 

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor processed commercial visa to work permit transfers for 7,318 workers from January to July last year, reports Al-Jarida daily quoting Assistant Undersecretary for Labor Affairs Jamal Al-Dousari.

On the other hand, Al-Dousari revealed a total of 7,185 domestic workers have so far benefited from the decision of the ministry to allow transfers from visa 20 to 18, provided it is under the same sponsor or 
his first-degree relatives.  Domestic workers can transfer to the private sector until Nov 30, he added.
Meanwhile, Al-Dousari said most companies complied with the directive of the ministry to stop work carried out under the direct heat of the sun from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm during summer (July to August) to protect the health of workers.

© Arab Times 2012