Kuwait Is Facing A Manpower Crisis

The Interior and Defense Committee of the National Assembly accepted a motion filed by a member of parliament in mid-April to facilitate the granting of visas for new domestic workers.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, this development indicates that Kuwait will resume the recruitment of domestic workers, as the sector — and the overall economy — faces a labour shortage, with the government liberalizing the domestic labour market while continuing efforts to address the long-term demographic imbalance.

In 2021, approximately 41.2 thousand domestic workers left Kuwait, reflecting a broader trend exacerbated by the Covid 19 pandemic, namely, the acceleration of expatriate departures since the start of "Corona" in early 2020, which caused a severe economic recession, reduced job opportunities in the private sector, and revealed the lack of financial sustainability to absorb more citizens in the overcrowded public sector, while the private sector remained relatively unaffected.
Despite the improved financial condition, the government continued to adopt nationalization measures, according to The Economist Intelligence, adding, "Since it is doubtful that Kuwaiti residents will carry out home tasks, this sector suffers from a considerable labour shortage."

Domestic servants' residency cards will be revoked if they were outside the country for more than six months, the administration declared in January. Although this action may be viewed as a means of promptly returning the employees to Kuwait rather than deporting them, it aggravated the dilemma for Kuwaiti families that rely on domestic workers during Ramadan, since their salaries increased considerably.

The National Assembly, which has populist inclinations and vehemently opposes policies that impose financial obligations on Kuwaiti nationals, might moderate its anti-immigration attitude and collaborate with the administration to change the visa system for domestic workers, according to The Economist Intelligence.

The Economist Intelligence expected the government to amend visa regulations in order to correct the domestic labour imbalance, but it is still likely that the authorities will continue to implement policies aimed at replacing foreign workers with citizens in order to reverse the 70-30 citizen-to-expat ratio, which will result in labour shortages in several sectors.

The recent event backs up the unit's prediction that foreign labour will be a hot topic in domestic politics for the next five years, from 2022 to 2026.

 

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