KUWAIT CITY, Dec 7: Chairman of the Health, Social and Labor Affairs Committee at the National Assembly MP Hani Shams disclosed that the committee on Wednesday discussed six bills on amending the Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS) Law. He said these bills stipulate adding Kuwaiti housewives above 50 years old and widows to the beneficiaries of the health insurance for retirees (Afia).

He added that two members of the Women, Children and Family Affairs Committee attended the meeting. He affirmed the report on the bills has been completed and it will be included in the agenda of the upcoming session in coordination with the Parliamentary Priorities Committee. MP Faisal Al-Kandari submitted a bill on defining hard, hazardous and harmful jobs. He clarified that the existing law includes stipulations on these jobs; but the legislation must be polished to lay down more regulations to ensure proper enforcement of the law. He said the comments and demands that the chairpersons of professional societies presented in the meeting held on Dec 1, 2022 were taken into consideration when he prepared the bill. He added the bill states that a certain institution will be tasked to enforce the regulations after the classification of jobs in the public and private sectors.

Proposed
MP Adel Al-Damkhi has proposed the allocation of a pediatric clinic in every health center and ambulances that should be available 24/7. MP Osama Al-Shaheen has proposed granting retirement incentives to the military personnel and non-ranking officers at the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Interior, National Guard and Kuwait Firefighting Force to be equal with the officers.

He also proposed granting them exceptional incentives that will be allocated for the officers in the future. MPs Hamad Al-Medlej, Osama Al-Zaid, Soud Al- Asfour, Abdullah Fehad and Thamer Al- Suwait submitted a bill on transforming Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) into a public profit entity. According to the bill, KCCI will have an elected 12-member board of directors under the supervision of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The board‘s term is four years renewable once. The bill bans the KCCI from engaging in any political activities and its role will be limited to organizing relations between traders. It is not allowed to collect any fees, other than the subscription fees. A transitional period shall be specified for the enforcement of this bill, along with the existing regulations. Meanwhile, MP Abdullah Turki Al-Anbaie forwarded queries to Minister of Public Works, Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy Amani Bugamaz about the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port project. He wants to know the completion date, if the contract with the company to manage the port has been signed, if the port has enough space for storage and logistics services, and plan to fully benefit from investing in logistic services at the port. By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff