Kuwait to fire 400 expat employees at Ministry of Public Works: Report
Kuwait will terminate the employment of the remaining 400 expatriates currently working at the Ministry of Public Works, according to local media reports.
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The Minister of Public Works and State Minister for Housing Affairs Dr. Rana al-Fares will reportedly sign termination letters for the group of employees who hold administrative, legal, and technical positions in various departments, the Kuwait Times newspaper reported on Saturday.
“The original plan was to terminate expatriate employees gradually, and the next batch was supposed to happen by year’s end… However, the minister decided not to wait and end expatriate employees’ contracts immediately,” Kuwait Times reported, quoting unnamed sources who spoke with the Arabic-language Kuwaiti newspaper Rai Daily.
The new terminations come weeks after 150 other employees were removed from their positions as the government moves forward with its plans to limit the number of foreign expatriate workers in Kuwait.
The combined 550 expatriate employees made up the entire expat workforce in both the Ministry of Public Works and Public Authority for Roads and Transportation, Kuwait Times reported, citing Rai Daily sources.
This move will therefore result in the removal of all foreign employees, which made up five percent of the total staff in both government entities, according to the report. About 70 percent of Kuwait’s population is currently made up of foreign expatriates.
The onset of the coronavirus pandemic has spurred “Kuwaitization” schemes, with authorities announcing in August the intention to deport hundreds of thousands of foreign workers from the country.
Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.
Read more:
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