KUWAIT CITY, Dec 4: The acting Director General of the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) Rabab Al-Osaimi announced that PAM plans to establish an automated link with the Central Bank and local banks in Kuwait to monitor and control the disbursement of workers’ salaries. Al-Osaimi explained in a press release, “We have been implementing the automation of wage transfers for several years.

The payroll system has been developed in phases, and the authority is currently suspending companies that fail to comply with salary payment regulations. Also, some of the authority’s automated services for employers are now dependent on the timely payment of salaries. These services include, but are not limited to, issuing work permits, assessing labor needs, and issuing tender certificates. Cabinet Resolution No. 1067/2020 mandates the registration of government contracts with the relevant department at PAM.

Administrative Circular No. 2/2021, issued by the Central Agency for Public Tenders (CAPT) on January 26, 2021, further mandates obtaining a certificate from PAM to verify compliance with salary transfer regulations, enabling companies to participate in public tenders. Companies with valid reasons for not transferring the wages of the workers registered in their files can submit these explanations through the “Reasons for Deficiencies” service within PAM’s automated system. Companies must provide the data and supporting documents, which are then reviewed and approved by PAM staff.

Furthermore, the Information Systems Center continues to implement new phases of system development to achieve full automation and automatic approval of requests without human intervention.” Al-Osaimi noted that PAM is also working on streamlining procedures to monitor and combat human trafficking. She revealed that the automated system for these matters is still in its initial stages and is being developed to achieve full integration with PAM’s procedures. Al-Osaimi emphasized that PAM’s automation efforts extend beyond electronic services for the public to include updating and developing internal systems, particularly the automated smart inspection system, for which PAM is the first government entity to have a smart application for recording field violations.
She indicated that inspections are conducted by national staff using these smart inspection systems, which have undergone continuous development and improvement. Al-Osaimi explained that PAM was the first government entity to implement an automated inspection application in 2018, which is updated and enhanced annually. The application allows for the digital recording of all types of inspections, eliminating the need for paper violation notices for employers. Notices are now sent directly to employers through the Sahel Aamal application or via SMS, providing details of the violation or the results of the inspection conducted by PAM’s inspectors.

Meanwhile, the acting Deputy Director General for Human Resources and Finance at PAM, Abdullatif Al- Fawzan, stated that the automation of PAM’s processes has surpassed 80 percent, adding that efforts are ongoing to achieve full automation. He noted that the average transaction completion time through PAM’s platforms is currently less than five minutes. Al-Fawzan added, “We are working on integrating more of PAM’s automated services into the Sahel Individuals and Sahel Aamal applications. The authority aims to provide all current and future services through these applications as a unified platform for services in the State of Kuwait.”