Law Under Consideration To Handle Impact Of Coronavirus Pandemic On Labor Market

Today, the Parliamentary Health Committee is discussing a draft law to address the affects of the coronavirus pandemic on the labor market, reports Al Rai daily. The draft law permits the employer whose business has been suspended in whole or in part due to the precautionary measures taken by Kuwait to halt the spread the new coronavirus pandemic, to come to an agreement with all or some of his employees to reduce their salaries from the date the business was suspended by a maximum of 50 percent. Taking into consideration the minimum wage, the employer will also agree with all or some of his employees to grant special leave at a reduced wage that is not less than the minimum wage or less than 30 percent of the wage, whichever is higher, during the period of business ceasing. The articles of the law are as follows:
Article (1)
The following shall have the meaning next to each of them:
1. The Concerned Minister: The Minister of State for Economic Affairs
2. The Minimum Wage: The wage determined according to the provision of Article (63) of Law No. (6) of the year 2010 referred to or any other law As a better feature of the worker.
3. Worker: Every worker is subject to Law No. (28) of 1969 regarding work in the oil business sector or Law No. (6) of 2010 regarding work in the private sector.
4. Employer: Every legitimate person who employs workers in exchange for
a wage of Article (2)
for the employer whose business has suspended entirely or partially due to the precautionary measures taken by the state to prevent the spread of the coronavirus:
1 – Agreement with all or some of his employees to reduce wages during the suspension of business up to a maximum of 50 percent, without prejudice to the minimum wage and taking into account the actual working hours against the paid wage.
2- Agreeing with all or some of his employees to grant special leave with a reduced wage that is not less than the minimum wage or less than 30 percent of the wage, whichever is higher, during the period of business suspension and upon the end of service in either of these two cases. Worker’s dues are calculated based on the wage due to him before his reduction and the period of reduction and leave is within the service period.
Article (3) The support for employment increases as a result of applying the provisions of the previous article by the amount of the difference between the actual wage due when applying this law and the wage after reducing it.
Article (4) As an exception from the provisions of Article Six of Law No. (101) for the year 2013 referred to, the General Organization for Social Insurance may continue to spend unemployment insurance for a period of six months at the end of the period of disbursement referred to in that Article, provided that it does not exceed the period of implementation of this law stipulated in Article 7
Article (5) The period decided by the Council of Ministers as a period of suspension of business where work ended in public entities in the state shall not be counted within the procedural dates for cases brought by the worker based on the provisions of this law.
Article (6) The Cabinet shall issue, based on the recommendation of the competent minister, the decisions that the economic sectors covered by this law and all other controls and conditions necessary to implement the provisions of this law shall be determined.
Article (7) Making an exception stated in any other law, the provisions of Article shall apply (2) of this law during the period of precautionary measures taken by the State for the halt to the spread of the coronavirus, which does not work in any provision contrary to the provisions of this law, and ends with the precautionary measures taken by the State to counter the coronavirus epidemic.
Article (8) The Prime Minister and the Ministers – each within his jurisdiction – must implement this law and it shall be enforced from 12/3/2020.

,And MP Osama Al-Shaheen said, “We have urgently submitted the Parliamentary Finance report, regarding the government’s project regarding the effects of the coronavirus on the workers during the pandemic, and the Health Committee will meet today to discuss it. He added, “It attracted my attention not to exclude the Kuwaiti worker, the ambiguity of the support mentioned in Article 3, and the retroactive effect of the law since it includes the suspension of business from last March.”

 

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