KUWAIT CITY, Jan 19: A new mechanism has been launched for assessing the need of employees after the launch of the new automated system which will be according to certain rules and depending on the type and the area of the business activity.

In another development, about 5,000 expatriates are now required to pay fines for the delayed renewal of their residency permits as a result of the disruption of the issuance of work permit procedures due to the activation of services on the ‘Ashal’ automated system of the PAM, reports Al-Qabas daily quoting sources.

The delayed issuance of work permits and failure to access the link system led to the inability of companies to automatically renew the residency permits of their workers who must pay KD2 fine per day of delay. Sources cited the data from the General Department of Residency Affairs in the Ministry of Interior; stating that about 5,000 expatriates are considered to have violated the Residency Law under such circumstances.

Sources attributed the issue to the recent amendments that PAM made in its automated system with the aim of switching to an integrated electronic system to eliminate manual procedures gradually starting from Jan 12, when some of the services were launched while others will be completed in the coming days.

The authority has updated its system to allow linking of academic qualifications with professions in the labor market, in addition to the amendment of job titles such that the system does not allow the registration of a degree holder whose specialization is not compatible with the job and vice versa.

According to the new system, jobs in the need assessment files are divided into three categories - professions, specializations and academic qualifications. Therefore, it is not possible to register a university degree holder in a job for a secondary certificate holder.

The automated system also rejects the registration or renewal of work permits for certain workers without the accreditation of their university qualifications.

This came after PAM launched new services which include a list of registered workers, a signature approval certificate, cancellation of work permits due to expiration of residency outside the country, final cancellation of work for travel or due to death, cancellation of national employment registration, and registration of national labor notices through the automated system.

By Faris Al-Abdan Al-Seyassah Staff and Agencies