KUWAIT CITY, Feb 7: Union of Consumer Cooperative Societies (UCCS) Chairman Dr Saad Al-Shibo has disclosed the new move by cooperative societies to suspend employment of expatriates and prioritize citizens under the supervision of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MOSAL).Al-Shibo made the announcement after the meeting of the committee tasked to explore procedures for employing citizens in cooperative societies with the Manpower and Government Restructuring Program (MGRP), UCCS, Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) and MOSAL He confirmed an agreement has reached on ensuring job security for citizens working in cooperative societies and their salaries should increase along with the continuation of their contracts.The meeting resolved to suspend employment and appointment of expatriates in cooperative societies to give way for citizens. Allowance will be allotted soon to motivate citizens working in cooperative societies, Al-Shibo added. He went on to say that an agreement has been put in place with PAAET to execute an integrated training program for cooperative work.He explained that expatriates will only be employed in fields and positions were there are no citizens available to fill those positions. He said a list of current vacant positions will be prepared, in coordination with MRGP, to pave way for the official announcement of vacancies. Meanwhile, rationalization policy implemented by government authorities prevents the Ministry of Education from taking part in external and internal conferences and other activities, says Al-Rai daily. Assistant Undersecretary for Administrative Affairs and Development Fahad Al-Ghais announced that individual seats Civil Service Commission (CSC) allotted to the ministry are not covered by fiscal year 2016/2017 budget. He apologized for inability of the ministry to participate in the Constitutional Education Conference slated for Feb 14-16, affirming difficulty in paying for the participation fee of the conference By Faris Al-Abdan Al-Seyassah Staff and Agencies