KUWAIT CITY, March 22: Public Authority for Manpower has issued a circular to prevent issuance of work permits for expatriate engineers in the cooperative sector, reports Al-Qabas daily quoting informed sources.They explained that the decision is based on the state’s efforts to apply Kuwaitization policy for all administrative and supervisory jobs in the cooperative sector, and support the governmental attitude in this regard.The sources revealed that the sector has filled a number of vacancies with Kuwaiti citizens in coordination with Manpower and Government Restructuring Program (MGRP). They indicated that the coming phase will witness the appointment of Kuwaiti citizens in more administrative and supervisory positions.Meanwhile, Acting Director of the authority Mubarak Al-Azmi said the procedures for merging the authority with MGRP are ongoing in line with the regulations stated by Civil Service Commission (CSC).He indicated that the financial packages of the employees post-merger have not been decided yet, affirming that the decision will be based on relevant regulations of CSC.Meanwhile, the Forum of Workers has lent its voice to objecting the privatization of cooperative societies, which the officials describe as a form of social ownership, reports Al-Qabas daily.Spokesperson of the forum Meshan Al-Buraq conveyed this decision to the public during a recent seminar titled “No to Privatization of Cooperative Societies”, which was organized inside Diwaniya of a member Adnan Shihab in Rumaithiya area. He said capitalists and the government were trying to depict privatization as a wonderful solution for all economic and administrative problems.However, he disagreed with that notion, saying it contravenes Article No. 20 of the Constitution, which calls for partnership between public and private sectors.In his comment, Lawyer Abdullah Al-Sanad insisted that cooperative society is not a public utility that can be privatized, because it is owned by stakeholders among residents of the area of its location. He stressed, “Cooperative societies have been in operation for over 50 years. Some of them have been successful but administrations of many others are terribly incapable”.