‘No change’ in working hours: CSC

The Eid holidays continue to dominate the scene at the ministerial complex where the corridors and offices are empty due to extension of the holidays imposed by employees and clients which could continue until the end of the week. However, some residents and citizens who had transactions to make at the ministries turned out and were attended to by the few officials available

KUWAIT CITY, June 19: Head of the Union of Domestic Labor Offices Khaled Al-Dekhanan announced that requests for domestic workers from the Philippines will now be accepted at a cost of KD 990 as set by Ministry of Commerce and Industry, reports Al-Rai daily.He said the offices have prepared special agreements in this regard with employment and recruitment agencies in the Philippines, stressing that the period of arrival of the domestic worker will range from 40 to 45 days with monthly salary of KD 120.Al-Dekhanan indicated that the domestic labor offices have also started supplying male and female domestic workers from Sri Lanka and India, stressing that the union is seeking to take all measures necessary to settle the domestic workers’ crisis that Kuwait has witnessed lately especially during the ban of recruitment of Filipino workers. He indicated that the work contract would be signed between the sponsor and the domestic worker in an office, denying that two contracts with different prices will be signed to evade implementation of the decision taken by Ministry of Commerce and Industry.Regarding Ethiopian domestic workers, Al-Dekhanan revealed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not yet signed the agreement with its counterpart in Addis Ababa. He said he hopes the ministry will speed up the completion of necessary measures and solve the outstanding issues to sign the agreement for supplying Ethiopian domestic workers as soon as possible.Meanwhile, Kuwait’s Civil Service Commission (CSC) has denied the veracity of recent reports indicating a potential increase in working hours across government bodies, saying that such information is “categorically false.” “Irrespective of whether its summer or winter, all government employees are required to work seven hours per day,” the CSC said in a statement on Tuesday. “As per a CSC law established in 2006, employees get 30 minutes’ leeway on arrival, while women are allowed to leave 15 minutes early given the pressure of family obligations,” the statement added.Meanwhile, it added that workplaces of unconventional nature should determine their work hours in coordination with the CSC.Furthermore, an official of Kuwait Municipality has revealed about the absence of the workers in Jahra and Sabhan cemeteries for a long time without any punishments being imposed by the Kuwait Municipality, reports Al-Rai daily. He said, “After surveying the two cemeteries, it was discovered that the workers do not comply with the official working hours, which usually ranges from four to six days per month.The absence of the workers has resulted in nonexecution of some works such as operation of water pumps, maintenance of the irrigation network and watering the trees. The provisions of the contract bind the contractor to supply workers for 8 hours per day at the work sites. The official affirmed that the Municipality had paid all financial installments to the contractor for this purpose.