Manpower Authority merges labor transfer decisions

The Manpower Public Authority (MPA) issued a decision to organize the conditions of transferring labor from one sponsor to another in many fields, an official sources at the authority said. The authority was working according to several ministerial decisions and decided to merge all decisions into one to make things easy, he said.

According to the source, the most notable of the new conditions included the government contracts, as the decision allowed the transfer of the technical labor on government contract to transfer to another sponsor with the approval of both employers.

The employer can transfer labor from one government contract to another, while the employer must cancel the work permit of workers registered on government contracts that cannot be transferred. The decision does allow the transfer of labor who are brought with work permits to work in the free trade zone or with foreign investors who practice economic activities mentioned in Law 116/2013, with regards to encouraging direct investment in Kuwait. Sponsors must comply with canceling the work permits of this labor to leave the country after the work is over.

Private sector, The decision allows the transfer of labor in the private sector after one year and obtaining approval from the sponsor. The time period for transferring work permits can be excluded for labor that is brought from abroad by a work permit with the approval of the sponsor in the following conditions: transfer of labor used locally in all sectors except industry, agriculture, shepherding and hunting and labor registered on government contracts through local transfers with the elapsing of one year on the issuance of the work permit. Transfer is allowed through the liquidation of the facility or its merger with another.

Transfer is not allowed to outside the sectors for the labor brought to work in the industry, agriculture, shepherding, and hunting, and transfer is limited to within the same sectors. The decision allows the transfer of government workers to the private sector and vice-versa taking into consideration the systems followed at the Interior Ministry. The decision allows the labor to transfer the work permit from one employer to another within the private sector with approval by the employer when three years elapse, while the employer must be given 90 days warning period.

The decision said that disputes in work permits presented by labor before the elapsing of one year of the date of issuance, then MPA has the right to discuss the dispute at the concerned department to approve the application or reject it. The decision allows the transfer of family residency to work in the private sector for those who spent one continuous year in the country, while bearing in mind procedures followed by the Interior Ministry. iv>