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Kuwait plans professional test for expatriate workers

Dubai: Prospective expatriate workers seeking employment opportunities in Kuwait will now be required to pass professional training tests at centres in their home countries, in a move by the Kuwait authorities to control the labour market.

The workers will also be required to take other tests held in Kuwait before they can take up jobs in the country, according to a report in the Kuwait Times.

The new move has been suggested by the Kuwait Professions Organisation, which will undertake the activities required for the purpose in coordination with the ministries and embassies concerned.

‘‘Several meetings were held with the Ministries of Social Affairs, Interior and Foreign Affairs as well as the Chamber of Commerce to devise a mechanism to recruit workers in accordance with the establishment of a labour authority,'' said head of the organisation Homoud Al-Madhaf.

The new move aims to control the labour market, and strike a balance by supplying highly qualified labour forces that are capable of meeting the demands of job owners while avoiding the recruitment of unqualified manpower.

Nearly six lakh Indians are at present based in the small Gulf nation, constituting the largest among expatriate populations in Kuwait.

Midday break

With the summer heat at its peak, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has enforced a three-month ban on labourers working under the sun during midday hours, to protect construction workers, a large number of whom are Indians.

The ban came into effect on Tuesday and will last for three months, Humaid bin Deemas, Director-General of the country's Labour Ministry said.

The Ministry organised an introductory seminar for the employing firms to awaken them on the government regulations enforcing a midday break for workers during summer.

The seminar was attended by representatives of over a 1,000 firms in the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi.

The maximum summer temperature in the UAE can sometimes go as high as 47 degrees Celsius.

Speaking at the seminar, Mr. Deemas said the decision to ban work during the midday hours was enacted toprotect over 4.1 million workers in the private sector.

‘‘In addition to this several hundred thousand people work in the transportation, cleaning and other services and they need to be protected from working under direct sun,'' Mr. Deemas said. — PTI

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