Kuwaitization

Kuwaitization fails as complaints continue

A 26-year-old Kuwaiti woman, quit her staid government job three years ago
for an ambitious position with a local bank. Like many Kuwaitis, she felt that
only in the private sector could she apply her education and talents and be
rewarded with promotions and a higher salary. But now she regrets leaving
her boring -- but safe -- government job for the bank. Although she has not
been laid off, she feels a keen sense of insecurity as colleagues are facing
layoffs or salary reductions. "I want to go back to the government. I can't
work in such chaos. People are being fired here and there, salaries and
benefits are reduced and others are resigning. This insecurity is not what
I left my previous job for," she said.

For the last decade, the government has promoted a program known as
Kuwaitization in a bid to reduce the dependency of citizens on government
jobs and to expand the private sector. The constitution guarantees a job for
every Kuwaiti and the result is a bloated bureaucracy. To reduce the pressure,
the government encourages citizens to work in the private sector by
subsidizing salaries and encouraging Kuwaitis to take up jobs previously
held only by expatriates.

A recent spate of layoffs and salary reductions in several sectors, most
notably the financial and construction sectors, has hit Kuwaitis hard.
Expats are used to some level of job insecurity but citizens are experiencing
it for the first time.

She now says that her desire for professional growth is overshadowed by
the growing economic crisis that has shattered the finance field worldwide
and at home. She has seen colleagues pack their personal belongings from
their desks after being given an end-of-service-letter at very short notice.
Her current dream revolves around getting back to the cozy job at a desk in
the Ministry of Education. For her, it is no longer a question of fulfillment but
of survival. She speaks of the feelings that rush in when the thought of packing
her own belongings comes to mind.

A Kuwaiti university graduate in his thirties who studied in the United States,
currently works for a real estate company. He told his story from the beginning
after his graduation from the United States four years ago. He came back
to Kuwait, and much to his family's disappointment, he refused to work in the
public sector. He favored the private sector instead and assumed his experience
there would be closer to his experience in the US while training, except with
more work, more creativity and more responsibility as opposed to the dull,
workless and long hours of the government sector.

After succeeding to pursue his goal, he was employed at a private sector
company and things were going fine until he received shocking news from
his employers. "My salary was reduced by KD 550. I was told to sign a paper
stating my consent to replace my paid leave with unpaid leave and I was told
that if I didn't sign the paper, I wouldn't receive my salary that month.
On top of that, my salary was over two weeks late.

Ali is the only provider of his household. He pays his rent, his car loan
installments, his wife's car rent installments, household supplies installments
and everyday life expenses. "As much as I hate to say it, this proves that
all my father used to tell me was right. He always said that there was
no security in private companies, but I took what he said to be just a part
of his over protectiveness.

He said the new labor law would not do anything to bring back those who were
laid off. "There is no organization that protects our rights; once our employers
tell us to get out, we can't negotiate our stay." The new law, he said, does
not add up to anything. "There aren't any essential changes, just minor
modifications to give people more time off and more money." Asked about
whether he would go to the public sector now or not, he said he wouldn't decide
until he found options to choose from.

The pressure applied on some employees by their employers is unbearable
to some. A 31-year-old, decided to leave his job and find one somewhere else.
Speaking to the Kuwait Times, he said things became much more complicated
than he expected them to be.

At first, the management said they would merge my division with another,
but then they decided that they wanted to shut down my whole division which
I managed for two years. I was then demoted. I started to fill the spot of whomever
they laid off. Of course, the pay changed, the nature of the job changed and
everything I was used to changed.

So he left. Now he is on the lookout for a better opportunity, but he insists that
it must be in the private sector. "I am a man with ambitions. I want to do
something and be remembered for it. Working in the government kills all your
ambition. This is not what I want to do with the hard work I did all my life.
I will not let it go to waste at a desk job at some ministry.

The crisis' ripple effects did not only effect current employees in the sector.
It also affected prospective employees who were, before the crisis, on the brink
of joining the private sector but who have now changed their minds. An employee
at the Ministry of Social Affairs, told Kuwait Times that all his eagerness to move
to the private sector was now gone. He said he wanted to stick to his job more
than ever now and that he may change divisions, but not jobs.

I can't afford to risk my future. I found the private sector persuasive but now it
seems to be on shaky ground." In his words, he said that the private sector was
now 'copying' the government sector with the recent talks on amendments to
the labor law. He said he expected people to desert the private sector.
"They have been bitten once. They won't wait for it to happen again.