The Kuwait Airways Corporations said for the year 2022 the airline is ranked 76th among the top 100 airlines around the world for the year 2022 after it was ranked 179th globally in 2021, reports Al-Rai daily.

This is according to the annual assessment by “Skytrax” website. The KAC stated achieving the 76th position is a reflection of the plans set by the company’s board of directors and executive management, and the efforts of employees in all operational and support sectors to reach the best levels of quality in work and service.

Kuwait’s Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) affirmed on Thursday that workers’ rights are protected by law, and focuses on the importance of the exporting countries to abide by their rules. This came in a statement by the Acting Director General of the Public Authority of Manpower Dr. Mubarak Al-Azmi on the sidelines of the 48th conference for Arab Labor in Cairo.

Al-Azmi noted that the authority asked its counterpart in Egypt to verify the integrity of the contracts that precede the recruitment process to Kuwait in coordination with the concerned authorities in the country and to abide by Kuwaiti legislation and regulations “to reduce any violations that end with deporting workers.” The authority called on the Egyptian Ministry of Labor to focus on the role of recruitment agencies and the role of the government in monitoring the procedures “to ensure the protection of workers’ rights before they travel and to ensure the health and safety of the recruits, he pointed out. (KUNA)

Expatriates coming to Kuwait should be ‘tested’ as part of plans to reform the demographic imbalance, the Director- General of the Public Authority for Manpower, Dr. Mubarak Al-Azmi, said the same will be done in cooperation with the Kuwait Society of Engineers (KSE) for related professions to ensure the applicant has good skills and knowledge about the job he is hired for before a visa is issued.

Al Qabas quoting responsible sources, said the tests by the KSE will be for new arrivals as a first stage, and then will include those who want to renew their work permits inside the country.

The sources confirmed that the tests will be a condition for the renewal and issuance/renewal of work permits, and in the event of failure the person will be given a grace period to leave the country.

Expats who were born recently while their mothers were on summer vacation face a severe humanitarian problem by not being able to bring their newborn babies home.

As a result, the Ministry of Interior has banned the issuance of all kinds of visas until further notice, including family dependent visas and visit visas.

During their interview with a local Arabic daily, these parents pleaded with the Ministry of Interior to exempt the newborns from its decision because of the humanitarian aspect, arguing that it threatens family reunification. Approximately 400 transactions have been submitted to the competent department to exclude the newborns from the decision stating that most of them are teachers.

The Engineering Audit and Follow-up Department of the Farwaniya Municipality announced power supply has been cut for 8 properties in violation of Ministerial Resolution No. 57/2019 in the Omariya area, in coordination and cooperation with the Judicial Enforcement Team at the Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy, and with the security support of the Ministry of Interior, reports Al-Jarida daily.

The Director of the Engineering Audit and Follow-up Department, Eng. Saeed Al-Azmi, in a press statement, said that the power was cut off and issuing a warning and making the owners sign a pledge to vacate two properties of bachelors in cooperation with the concerned authorities, stressing that the supervisory team in the Engineering Audit and Follow-up Department was following complaints from Al-Omariya residents who said bachelors were staying in a number of model residential area and demanded legal action.

For his part, Eng Khaled Al-Osaimi indicated that field tours are continuing to monitor all violating properties, take legal measures, and cut off power supply in cooperation with the concerned authorities, to limit the spread of the phenomenon of singles living in private and model housing areas and called on real estate owners to cooperate with the Municipal supervisory teams and the concerned authorities during their field tours to avoid legal accountability.

A presence of large shark roaming near Sabah Al Ahmad sea area has triggered a warning to beachgoers to take necessary precautions as coordination’s has been made with the concerned authorities to take necessary measures.

Kuwait Airways Company confirmed that it is moving steadily towards Kuwaitization of jobs, and said the board of directors is working to Kuwaitize all senior positions in the company in the near future, reports Al-Rai daily. The executive management is working to double the percentage of national workers during the next 3 years.

In a statement, Kuwait Airways revealed a project has been signed with specialized companies to study and evaluate the salary scale and benefits for colleagues in the company, and to provide and implement the opinion, and it includes all jobs outside and inside Kuwait, in the interest of national cadres.

The statement said in implementation of the strategic plan pursued by the Board of Directors and the Executive Management since they assumed their duties at Kuwait Airways Company, with a comprehensive development and modernization of the adopted systems and their transformation into digital services to reduce the documentary cycle and save the trouble and exert efforts to comprehensively modernize all of these systems and creating a comprehensive “FIORI” system through which the employee can obtain many of the services he needs through the website and electronic e-rebate application, including, but not limited to among others. It is now easy to obtain these services and save time in order to upgraded services that contribute to the development of the work system within the company, encouraging young and highly qualified citizens.

The company said in a statement that in order to complement the efforts to create a suitable working atmosphere for all the employees, obstacles and difficulties facing the work team should be overcome, creating a spirit of competition and innovation. In addition, the company has launched a project with specialized companies to study and evaluate the salary scale and benefits for colleagues in the company and to provide feedback and implement it. This includes all jobs inside and outside Kuwait. The Board of Directors and the Executive Management added in a statement that they are keeping in mind Civil Service Commission Resolution No. 11 of 2017, stressing that officials are moving forward in the Kuwaitization of jobs in order to raise the Kuwaitization rate in the coming years, as the company views with great importance the national interest.

The Ministry of Interior is facing a major challenge with the increasing number of expats who are in deportation centers. Currently their number has reached 3,500. They cannot leave as one of the companies contracts with the ministry has expired.

The contract expired in mid August and its renewal is still under process at the financial department of the Ministry of Interior which is waiting for approval. The deportation department no longer receives any deportees without an air ticket.

The continuous security campaigns have led to an increase in the number of violators being arrested. The company which is responsible for deportees tickets, generally collects the amount from the sponsor since the contract is not renewed it is not possible to carry on their duties of collecting tickets except for those who pay for their own tickets. Currently 1,300 are in deportation centers, 1,500 in security directorates and police stations, 400 in residence investigation departments, 200 in criminal investigation and 100 in Drug Enforcement Department.

Their presence in detention centers require additional budget in providing food, water, medical care etc.

The sources stated that currently the deportees can pay for their own ticket and leave the country, while those who cannot pay are waiting in prison until the contract is signed between the company and the ministry, reports Al Rai. In the past when a contract was valid, any arrests were made, they were deported immediately and sponsors used to pay the ticket value or their accounts were frozen till they had paid the value of the ticket.

As part of the Kuwaiti parliamentary election, the General Administration of Private Education suspended all of its affiliated schools, including private schools, on Thursday, September 29.

In accordance with Cabinet Decree 147 (2022), new members of the National Assembly will be elected on September 29.

Three days after the implementation of Kuwait Municipality’s decision to oblige shops, groceries and restaurants in private residential areas to close at 12:00 midnight, the Municipality teams continue to monitor these establishments in order to ensure strict compliance with the directive, reports Al-Rai daily quoting a reliable sources.

According to the source, the first step against those proven to have violated the directive is the issuance of a warning, followed by closure of the establishment if the violation continues. He said Director General of the Municipality Engr Ahmed Al-Manfouhi has instructed the audit and follow-up departments in the branches to strictly implement the decision, indicating the abovementioned establishments are allowed to open at 6:00 am.

The source explained that the Municipality is an organized body that issues decisions as per the request of the concerned authorities, especially the Ministry of Interior. Therefore, any request will be approved immediately; particularly those aimed at ensuring the security and safety of citizens and expatriates, the source added. In a related development, a security source told the daily that the ministry’s role in this regard is to provide assistance if requested; as the closure of shops and restaurants is beyond its jurisdiction.

The Security authorities imposed a surprise campaign in the Salmiya area around Qatar street. All the exit and entrance areas were guarded by security patrols to apprehend criminals and residence violators.

The campaign was supervised by the Assistant Director-General for the Education Sector, Major General Sheikh Fawaz Al-Khaled, and the Assistant Director-General for Coordination and Follow-up, Brigadier General Khaled Mahmoud, in the presence and support of the head of the joint committee team Muhammad Galoud. 

The campaign resulted in the arrest of an Indian expat with 35 locally distilled alcohol, dozens of traffic violations were issued along with a number of residence violators and street vendors where their sponsors have been blocked to carry out any transactions.

 The recent joint meeting between representatives of the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) and Ministry of Interior resulted in a set of regulations aimed at controlling the labor market, eliminating marginal workers, and punishing those proven to have violated labor and residency laws, reports Al- Qabas daily quoting sources.

Sources revealed the representatives agreed on revising the conditions for recruiting workers in delivery companies and restaurants in order to adopt a clearer and stricter mechanism. Sources said the representatives also discussed procedures for food trucks and other commercial activities on wheels, especially the delivery of items.

Sources added inspectors from the Public Authority for Food and Nutrition, PAM and the General Traffic Department in the ministry are currently conducting a comprehensive inspection campaign to ensure strict compliance with the health regulations, particularly the mode of transporting foodstuff.

The campaign will be conducted on a daily basis in commercial areas, restaurants, delivery companies and motorcycles used and it will be ensured that the driver of the vehicle possesses a work permit, a “health card” and a valid civil card, whose residence has to be on the same employer. If a worker is arrested outside his/her workplace, they will be referred to the Residency Affairs Investigations Department to complete the procedures that will end with deportation from Kuwait

According to the Ministry of Interior, the requirements for delivery vehicles will take effect on October 1.

According to authorities, those violating these conditions will have their licenses suspended and legal action taken against them.

Meteorologist Fahd Al-Otaibi stated that there are chances of light rain in some areas of Kuwait starting from Wednesday until Friday.

Al-Otaibi expected that there will be wind activity during the next Saturday and Sunday, with dust interspersed with it.

Kuwait’s National Seismic Network (KNSN) at Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) on Tuesday reported a 3.3 magnitude reading in the Southeastern region of Al-Abdali.

Directing KNSN’s operational body Dr. Abdullah Al-Enzi stated an earthquake took place at 1:46pm (GMT +3), estimated to have occurred 7km underground (KUNA)

The Ministry of Health has obtained approval from the regulatory authorities to directly import medicines for various types of cancer from manufacturers, reports Al-Qabas daily quoting sources. Sources revealed these medicines will be distributed to Hussein Makki Al-Juma Center for Specialized Surgery and other centers affiliated with Kuwait Cancer Control Center, indicating the contract value is KD 7.6 million. Sources affirmed the ministry is keen on regulating the distribution of medicines to patients, especially those suffering from cancer and chronic diseases. Sources added the Central Agency for Public Tenders (CAPT) also approved the purchase of medical supplies for conducting tests to detect AIDS and hepatitis viruses by using the nucleic acid technology, as the Central Blood Bank laboratory needs such supplies. Sources disclosed the cost of these supplies is estimated at KD 1.9 million. Sources explained these supplies are needed to ensure the safety of blood donation.

Purchase
Sources went on to say that the ministry will also purchase supplies used in X-rays at a cost of KD 927,000 and medicines for high blood sugar at a cost of KD 1.7 million. According to sources, the regulatory authorities approved as well the ministry’s request to float a tender to support, develop and operate the electronic medical file system at Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital in the next phase, taking into consideration the upcoming transfer of citizens using services at Adan and Mubarak Al- Kabeer hospitals to Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital. Meanwhile, the Environment Public Authority (EPA) has launched the ‘Retrieve Expired and Unused Medicines’ campaign, reports Al-Anba daily. In a statement to the daily, Director of the Public Relations and Media Department Sheikha Al-Ibrahim Proposal sent to amend Cabinet’s resolution No. 867/2001 on collecting in-kind donations KUWAIT CITY, Sept 20: The Minister of Commerce and Industry and the Minister of Social Affairs and Community Development Fahad Al- Shariaan submitted a proposal to the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers with a request to reconsider and amend the Cabinet resolution No. 867/2001, reports Al-Anba daily.

The financial and administrative affairs, planning and administrative development sectors of the Ministry of Social Affairs have completed the first phase of launching the automated system for registering employees to obtain sick and annual leaves and permission, via what is known as the “electronic job file”, to address any shortcomings or errors that occurred previously and caused fi- nancial or moral harm to the concerned party, reports Al-Jarida daily.

Reliable sources from the ministry said at this stage only the employees working in the Ministries Complex are included, and the Administrative Affairs Administration has begun to receive leaves, sicknesses and permissions for employees automatically through the “application” explaining that this will be followed by four other stages. The departments outside the complex include: the departments of social care homes, the family care department employees (external units), the social development center employees, and the cooperative societies (the cooperative supervision and inspection department employees).

The sources pointed out that the new service allows the employee to submit a regular or sick leave or permission, after entering a user name and password that belongs to him, and then submit his request to the “administrative affairs” immediately, without having to wait several days for the administration to receive these requests. The ministry noted that many employees, especially those working in external departments and units (outside the ministries complex), were subjected to injustice and salary deductions and in some cases their pay check was withheld as a result of interruption from work and failure to prove attendance and departure through the “fingerprint” system due to the delay in the arrival of their leave requests to the competent department, in addition to some of them being affected by non-receipt of requests for permission when the 30% of attendance and leave, on the basis of which the annual evaluations of employees which is why they were affected during evaluation of their job performance.

The sources added that “the computer department in the administrative, planning and development sector is currently working to launch the rest of the stages in succession, to be completed in full to cover all the ministry’s employees within 3 months maximum, so that all employees can benefit from it, especially as it will be the gateway to transform “administrative affairs” into a smart department by eliminating paper transactions and expanding the use of automated systems, in order to facilitate employees and protect their rights.”

The Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) has activated the absenteeism registration system for expatriates who hold work permits through the ‘Ashal’ automated platform, reports Al- Qabas daily quoting sources.

Sources explained this is aimed at tracking down workers with unjustified absences, determining reasons behind absenteeism and addressing the problem. Sources revealed the Inspection Department at PAM is currently looking into about 1,000 absenteeism reports. Sources affirmed the relevant law allows the worker to object within two months from the date of registering the complaint against him.

Once the deadline ends and the worker does not take such step, the file will be referred to the Residency Affairs Investigation Department to take the necessary legal measures; such as registering the absences in the records of the Ministry of Interior and deportation, sources added.

There have been attempts by the parliament and the government to contain domestic violence, and violence against women in particular, which resulted in submitting a report to the National Assembly to approve a law that constituted a kind of buffer to put an end to this phenomenon of violence against women, reports Al-Qabas daily.

Official reports revealed that a majority of cases of domestic violence that were examined by forensic doctors in the Forensic Medicine Department of the Ministry of Interior until 2020 were against women and children who were subjected to assaults.

 A large number of business owners and private companies have complained about a glitch in the automated system of the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) – rejecting work permit applications submitted from abroad without giving any reason, just a popup message that “the transaction was rejected based on the rejection of attachments,” reports Al-Jarida daily.

Some business owners told the daily that when their representatives went to the labor departments to know the reasons behind the rejection, it appeared in a printout that the license was suspended for lack of a valid address. They said this happened even if they completed several transactions in the past hours. They asked the director of PAM to intervene and immediately solve this problem, which led to the suspension of their transactions