Kuwait issues five-year plan to cut foreign workers

The Kuwaiti Civil Service Bureau issued a decree yesterday to reduce the number of foreign workers in government agencies within five years and to increase the percentage of Kuwaiti employees so they comprise between 70 and 100 per cent of the total workforce.

The number of foreign staff whose contracts will be terminated after five years will be determined at a later date.

According to the decision, the Civil Service Bureau will prepare an annual plan which will identify which occupations will be targeted and the percentage of Kuwaiti employees which should fill each group.

The decree said that the target rates for Kuwaiti employees are 100 per cent in the fields of IT, development, management and statistics, administrative support, literature, media, arts and public relations and maritime.

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Other rates are 98 per cent in forensics, preventive and rescue groups and 97 per cent in engineering, educational and sports services, and 95 per cent in finance, economic and trade functions and science functions.

The rates of Kuwaiti employees in the service sector should reach 85 per cent and 75 per cent in livestock, agricultural and aquaculture functions and 70 per cent in teaching, education and training.

Foreign workers accounted for 81.6 per cent or 1.6 million of Kuwait’s total workforce of 1.96 million at the end of March.