Kuwait’s education and health ministries to lay off hundreds of expats

Kuwait’s education and health ministries are expected to lay off hundreds of expatriates and replace them with Kuwaitis.

The Gulf state’s Civil Service Commission urged the ministries to report the names of expat employees they wish to terminate before the end of the year so that it can replace them with Kuwaitis in the new fiscal year, local daily Kuwait Times reported.

While the Ministry of Education (MoE) is expected to lay off 450 expat employees, including English, Computer and Literature teachers and administrative staff members, the report said.

“The list will also include supervisors, namely in subjects where expats can be replaced by citizens,” sources told the paper.

Meanwhile the ministry of Health is anticipated to terminate 300 expat staff including those in administrative roles as well as the oldest doctors and nursing staff members.

Sources said employees to be laid off will be notified before the end of the year, while teachers will be notified before the end of the school year.

Late last year, it was reported that authorities in Kuwait are planning to reduce the number of foreign residents in the country by at least 1.5 million over the next seven years.

Read: Kuwait plans to ‘cut 1.5 million foreign residents’

The large number of foreigners, who account for around 70 per cent of the country’s 4.6 million population, has led to calls from some members of parliament for nationality quotas, higher fees and other restrictions.

Earlier this year, Kuwaiti MP Safa Al-Hashem claimed “importing” expatriates and offering them administrative jobs in the government was one of the main reasons for the high unemployment rate among Kuwaitis.

Also read: Kuwaiti MP reportedly receives ‘death threat’ for anti-expat remarks