Kuwait Restaurants Union Bemoan ‘expats Over 60’ Ban, Worry Will Hurt Business

The Kuwait Restaurants Union criticized the recent government decision to ban the renewal of work permits for expatriates aged 60 years or higher who have a high school degree and below, or equivalent qualifications in a memo addressed to the Prime Minister His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled, Al-Jarida daily reported yesterday.

In details of the memo, the Union states that the ban “goes far beyond regulating the relationship between employers and employees,” and allows the government to control and issue ban orders “in violation of laws and the constitution under the excuse of adjusting Kuwait’s demography.”

Under the pretext of adjusting the demographic imbalance, the union noted that the authorities did not pay attention to the importance of the employer’s right to regulate the  relationship with its employees, but rather intervenes to harm the security and continuity of the commercial enterprise on one side, and weaken the employer’s right to seek assistance from experienced workers on the other hand.

The union highlighted that the administrative resolution lacks legal causes and poses a constitutional violation, namely of article 22 of the constitution which stipulates that: “Relations between employers and employees and between landlords and tenants shall be regulated by law on economic principles, due regard being given to the rules of social justice.”

Furthermore, the union said that the decision undermines the private sector’s liberty to regulate and organize its work “because the majority of well-experienced staff members in the private sector, who actually pose basic factors of its success, fall under this category.”

Practical solutions

The union’s memo also pointed out that adjusting the demographic imbalance requires practical solutions such as determining the local market’s actual needs of laborers, introducing strict legal monitoring, holding visa traffickers and fake companies “that have been swarming the country with excessive numbers of laborers” legally accountable, and intensifying the efforts to deport illegal and marginal laborers.

The memo further revealed that the decisions does not address the demographic imbalance, because the ban on 60 years and above does not consider the need of the labor market. Adding, this decision will result in the replacement of expats aged 60 with someone younger, and therefore, this decision does not fix the demographic imbalance.

It even punishes the business owners who are committed to the law, along with the criminals such as visa traders, which the coronavirus pandemic crisis has helped to show the impact and the extent of the crime’s seriousness.

If this was a matter of reducing costs for health services in Kuwait, the Union agreed that “those expats aged sixty suffer from diseases or are vulnerable to health ailments, yet it can be fixed by requiring additional types of insurance for them.”

The Kuwait Restaurants Union stressed that the private sector suffered most from the coronavirus crisis, and is surprised every day by the sudden decisions that also put a strain on business decisions, rather than making it easier for business owners to operate, and support them towards returning to prosperity, in a way that will positively reflect on the economy of the country. The Union emphasized that is why it is necessary for the decision to be cancelled to stop the damage and losses as a consequence.

The Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) announced a ban on the issuance and renewal of work permits for expats who have reached the 60 and above, with only a high school degree university degree and below starting from January 1, 2021. Renewals will be allowed only for one year until the ban comes into play from 1st January 2021.

According to the latest government figures as of December 31, 2019, there are 1,426,693 expatriates with a high school degree or lower working in the private sector, compared to 188,899 expats with a university degree or higher and 25,238 unspecified, making up a total of 1,640,830 employees in the private sector where expats make up over 90 percent of the total workforce.

 

Source: Timeskuwait

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