KUWAIT CITY, Nov 3: Informed sources report that significant amendments are being considered for the Public Authority for Manpower’s (PAM) Decision No. (34/2022), which affects expatriate workers aged 60 and above who hold a high school diploma or less. After nearly three years of this policy’s enforcement, there have been extensive and ongoing negative effects on the labor market. The policy has led to the permanent departure of thousands of skilled workers in hard-to-fill professions due to the high financial cost for residency renewal or transfer—estimated at around 1,000 dinars annually—making it difficult for these individuals to legally continue their work in the country.


Labor market experts note that the political leadership is keen on revitalizing the labor market to address issues left by previous restrictions, which caused a significant shortage in various types of expatriate workers. They highlight the corrective approach taken by the First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, and Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef, whose recent decisions reflect this commitment to reform. Among these are Decision No. (8/2024), which allows workers brought in under government contracts to work in other sectors under specific requirements, and the removal of the university degree requirement for transferring from the government to the private sector. Additionally, Decision No. (6/2024) permits domestic workers to transfer to the private sector after a specific period.

Observers believe that these reform efforts will culminate in a major amendment to the "60-year" decision. Experts have long warned that persisting with this decision could severely impact the national economy, as it has led to the dismissal of thousands of experienced workers. The decision, they argue, places undue emphasis on academic qualifications while overlooking the critical accumulated experience these workers bring, exacerbating shortages of specialized professional and technical labor.

They emphasize the importance of reassessing the decision’s provisions to better support both small and large businesses. Most of the jobs affected by the decision, which led to many workers permanently leaving the country, are not attractive to national workers and do not interfere with the state’s ongoing “Kuwaitization” initiative. As an example, observers point to the “tailors’ crisis” that resurfaces before every major holiday or event due to the departure of thousands of tailors. They urge officials, particularly Minister Al-Yousef, to address such issues by either fundamentally revising or rescinding such decisions altogether.