KUWAIT CITY, Oct 4: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Oil and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, Dr. Saad Al-Barrak, has issued a ministerial decision to form a committee to consider grievances and complaints of employees and workers of the Ministry of Oil, the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and its subsidiaries, and any other affiliated entity in his capacity as Minister of Oil, reports Al-Qabas daily.

The committee will be chaired by Dr. Ahmed Khalifa Al-Shatti with Dhari Adnan Al-Salama from the Fatwa and Legislation Department as vice-chairman, Jamal Ali Al-Ajmi (a senior specialist at the Kuwait Oil Company) as a member, and Jihan Ahmed Abu Zina (head of the Ceremonies Department - Ministry of Finance) as Rapporteur.

The decision stipulated that the committee’s terms of reference and powers include the following:

-- To consider and examine all grievances/complaints specified in Article One of this decision, except for the grievance or complaint for which a special decision is issued by the Minister.

-- To consider all other work or tasks referred to or entrusted to it by the Minister.

-- The committee has all the necessary powers to carry out its duties in examining grievances and complaints, including listening to the statements and clarifications of the person filing the grievance/complaint and requesting and receiving any documents related to the subject of the grievance/complaint. The committee may invite any employee of the Ministry or the Petroleum Corporation and its affiliated companies to attend its sessions and whomever it deems appropriate. To hear his statements, whether on its own initiative or at the request of both parties to the grievance or complaint, and the committee may seek the assistance of whomever it deems appropriate among the experts and specialists, without them having the right to participate in voting in the decisions issued by the committee during the deliberations of the sessions.

-- The Committee may decide on the grievance or complaint directly if it becomes clear to it that the papers and documents submitted to it are sufficient to decide on the matter before it.

The committee shall submit to the Minister a written report that includes the results of its examination of each grievance/complaint and also includes the recommendations it deems appropriate.

After the committee’s report is approved by the Minister, the grievance/complaint is referred to the concerned authority (Ministry of Oil/KPC/any other entity affiliated with the Minister, as the case may be).

If the grievance/complaint relates to the KPC or one of its subsidiaries, the committee’s report will then be referred to the Corporation’s Board of Directors.