KUWAIT CITY, Jan 23: The Kuwaitization program for contractors linked with the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and its subsidiaries in the year 2024 includes 1,211 jobs in five oil companies, reports Al-Anba daily quoting official data. The data showed that Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has the largest number of jobs under contracts that are subject to Kuwaitization with about 629, followed by Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC) with 507, Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) with 46 jobs, Kuwait Petrochemicals Industry Company with 28 and Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC) with only one . It stated that the Kuwait Gulf Oil Company (KGOC) and Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) are currently studying the employment plan for Kuwaiti workers under the contracts with KPC.

Contract workers in the oil sector receive bonuses, allowances and benefits as follows: Social and children allowances:

These allowances are disbursed to Kuwaitis under the systems and rules specified through the workforce restructuring program and the State’s executive system. These allowances are not considered part of the wage granted to workers.

Site allowance: It applies only to Zone Two (South and East Kuwait Fields, Ahmadi refineries, Shuaiba, Port Abdullah, Export and Marine Operations) and Zone Three (Wafra, Zour, North Kuwait Fields, West Kuwait Fields, and Al- Jazeera Industrial Drilling Operations).

Annual travel ticket: The employee and his wife are granted KD200 air ticket allowance each, after the employee completes one year of uninterrupted work without considering the annual performance evaluation. This applies to both male and female employees.

Incentive bonus: The contractor provides an annual incentive bonus for those with good performance and discipline at work. This bonus is equivalent to a maximum of the net month’s salary. The contractor grants this bonus after obtaining the company’s written approval.

Immediate bonus: By decision of the company, the contractor will pay an immediate bonus to the Kuwaiti worker -- maximum of one month salary, after obtaining the company’s written approval, provided that this bonus is not paid repeatedly to the same worker in the same fiscal (contractual) year.

As per the contracts of entities subject to the Kuwaitization decision, Kuwaiti workers are given, at the start of recruitment, the corresponding wages for each job based on the job grade and the location of the work. These wages are considered total lump sum wages, including, for example, (road and transportation allowance, nature of work and all other allowances), provided that the worker bears the percentage of his social insurance contribution. The worker also enjoys medical insurance, as the contractor is obligated, within 30 days of signing the employment contract for the Kuwaiti worker, to provide health insurance to his Kuwaiti workers, and the annual cost of that insurance must not exceed KD250.

It should cover the worker and all members of his family. The Kuwaiti worker is also granted an annual leave of 42 days. At the end of the contract, every Kuwaiti worker is entitled to receive an allowance equivalent to half of the net monthly salary for each year of service without interruption, provided that he obtains a performance evaluation rating of not less than ‘good’. This bonus is paid once at the end of the contract period. The contractor pays this entitlement based on the actual amounts paid to the Kuwaiti worker.