According to an ambitious strategy established by the bank's management to provide the best service to citizens in the simplest and easiest way possible, the Kuwait Credit Bank is the first government institution to be unique in providing its services through artificial intelligence technology, according to spokeswoman Habari Al-Khashti.

Al-Khashti emphasized that the bank's artificial intelligence technology services do not need customers to physically visit any of the bank's branches or to submit paperwork from various governmental agencies.

 A recent statistic issued by the labor market system, which is based on cooperation between the Central Administration of Statistics and the General Authority for Manpower, revealed an increase in the total number of workers entering the country in the first three months of 2022, reports Al-Qabas daily. The statistics, a copy of which has been obtained by the daily, showed that the total number of workers who entered the country in the first three months of this year was approximately 22,000 workers 88.9% of them domestic workers, specifically 19,532 of 6 nationalities — India, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Benin and the Sudan.

The sources stated that new domestic workers from India make the highest number with a total of 11,591, followed by the Filipinos with 5,631, while the number of other nationalities did not exceed hundreds. The statistic showed a continuous decrease in employment in some nationalities topped by Nepal, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Pakistan.

Despite the increase in the total number of workers, the data contained in the statistics includes a continued decline in the number of workers under Article 18 by 50% among the top 9 countries exporting labor to Kuwait; the number of Indians decreased by 1,967 workers, followed by Egyptians by 1,415, then Filipinos and Bangladeshis. The number of Nepalese achieved a remarkable increase at the beginning of 2022, as their numbers rose to 2,447 workers, in addition to 354 Jordanians and 121 Syrians, and 4,697 Kuwaitis entered the labor market in the same period. Among those living the labor market the Iranians with topped the list while the Lebanese topped the list for new workers into Kuwait.

The first day of Dhu al-Hijjah will fall on Thursday, June 30, while the first day of Eid al-Adha will fall on Saturday, July 9, according to the Al-Ojiri Scientific Center. According to Kuwait City's local time, the Eid prayer begins at 5.10 am, according to the centre. 

The Competition Protection Authority (CPA) has summoned for interrogation a number of exchange companies, against the background of allegations that they have concluded a collective agreement to unify the prices of remittances according to rates agreed upon daily, and this includes the exchange rate margin of their converted currencies, reports Al-Rai daily. Reliable sources from the authority said it constitutes a violation of the provisions of the device law.

In the event that the accusations against them are proven, these companies will face penalties in accordance with the “Competition Protection” law, starting with a warning, and up to a fine of 10 percent of their profits achieved throughout the implementation period of their agreement. It is reported, according to the open investigation in this regard, that 12 exchange companies have resorted, since the start of the repercussions of the corona pandemic, to regulate competition between them, with an amicable understanding contract that requires the implementation of their transfers at a unified price, and this includes the exchange rate of currencies transferred in their operations, with the aim of getting rid of unhealthy competition, which sometimes reached offering prices devour returns.

This agreement obligates all its members to set the price on a daily basis, without allowing any reduction in value, regardless of the weight of the customer, the size of his transfers and his history with the company. Sources close to the exchange companies pointed out that their understanding in this regard does not contradict the “Competition Protection” law for more than one reason, noting that the two ‘mutualists’ are 12 companies, while there are about 200 companies and exchange institutions that did not participate in this agreement, as they decided to work alone by determining its profit margin from remittances, and while doing so, it provided lower price levels than those traded with counter-party companies. She stated that about 35 companies are working in the local exchange market, subject to the supervision of the Central Bank of Kuwait, not all of them agreed on this understanding, which shows that the agreement is not binding.

Al-Rai newspaper reported that Dr. Youssef Behbehani, a senior specialist in internal medicine, nephrology, and blood pressure, is the largest organ donor in Kuwait. In the presence of Kuwait University's Acting Dean of the College of Social Sciences, Dr. Maha Al-Sijari, he spoke during a symposium at the College of Social Sciences at Kuwait University.

Dr. Youssef Behbehani said that Indians are the most common nationality to donate organs after death in Kuwait, followed by Filipinos, and then Bangladeshis.

Donors of organs are separated into two categories: living donors, who can donate specific organs, and deceased donors, whose organs may be healthy and may be able to save up to eight lives.

In 1979, Kuwait was the first country in the Gulf region to conduct a kidney transplant.

On Sunday, Kuwait International Fairgrounds in Mishref opened its fifth Centre for Expatriates Examination. A ceremony was held to inaugurate the center by Health Minister Khaled Al-Saeed. The center can accommodate 1,000 people daily.

The ministry is continuing its efforts to reduce pressure on existing centers by opening a new center. Approximately 500 people can wait in the waiting area. It has 10 registration counters. The hospital also has 20 clinics for blood testing and four x-ray rooms. 160 personnel work at the center, including doctors, nurses, radiologists, and administrators. 12 hours are worked each day at the center.

The Ministry of Interior on directives of his excellency the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Lieutenant-General Sheikh Ahmed Al-Nawaf  issued notice to stop issuing visit visas for Family and Tourism from today until further notice due to new mechanism is to be introduced by Residency Affairs department. 

When compared with the same period in 2021, when it was around 23 million dinars, Kuwait's sales of tourism and travel agencies than doubled, reaching approximately 112 million dinars.

There are 430 travel offices in Kuwait, according to sources who spoke to a local Arabic newspaper. They noted that the increase in sales is due to the tourism and travel industry's recovery, the lifting of travel restrictions that had been put in place at most international locations following the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the desire of citizens and residents to travel again after a protracted break.

According to the same sources, Kuwaitis most frequently go to Turkey, Dubai, and different European nations, whereas most locals spend their summer vacations in their home country.The sales in February 2022 climbed by about 5.5 times to 22 million dinars from 3.36 million dinars in the same month of 2021. Additionally, it increased by 3.2 times last May to 27.74 million compared to 6.59 million in the same month of 2021, and by 5.1 times in April to 24.27 million compared to 3.96 million.

Engineer Saad Al-Otaibi, the Director-General of Civil Aviation's spokesperson and the Deputy Director-General for Planning and Projects Affairs, claimed that the country's epidemiological situation and the lifting of international travel bans would result in a daily passenger volume that exceeded everyone's expectations in the summer of 2022 and return to pre-Corona levels.

Between June 1 and September 30, he said, there would be a projected flow of around 6 million passengers, evenly split between arrivals and departures. Al-Otaibi stated that around 43,000 flights will transfer this enormous number of travellers to various locations, with 22,000 outgoing flights and approximately 21,000 arriving flights.

For some time now, banks have been witnessing a silent struggle to attract national labor, especially the most sought-after, which led to the introduction of sometimes undeserved adjustments to the salary scale granted to citizens, in an attempt to maintain the targeted national labor rates and raise the efficiency of their competition locally, reports Al-Rai daily. In this regard, banking said the demand for banking and financial services employees, and specialists in technology and automation work, has generally doubled, during the recent period, driven by an increase in the need for them more than ever, while the job of the head of the strategic planning and follow-up unit at the bank is especially important, with the Central Bank of Kuwait obligating banks to establish a unit headed by a Kuwaiti.

What increased the importance of this job segment was the rapid efforts of banks to shift towards digitalization, and to expand locally in the application of governance, at a time when it was noticed that these vacancies were few compared to what was required of them to the extent that could enable banks to maintain their competitive capabilities ignited in Kuwait.

Kuwaitization
The sources indicated that the banking policy makers are ready to pay high salaries to Kuwaiti employees to ensure that their institutions are provided with the largest amount necessary funds to conduct their businesses, and to enhance their superiority in banking competition over Kuwaitization. The sources put the total banking sector employees at about 16,500, while the announced data indicated that the average percentage of national employment in all local banks rose from 34.9% in 2000 to 76% at the end of 2021, and the total national workforce working in Kuwaiti banks increased from 1,543 workers in 2000 to 9,859 by the end of 2021, with an average annual growth rate of 9.2%, while the total national employment in foreign bank branches increased from 112 workers in 2008 to 312 by the end of 2021. The number of Kuwaiti women working in the banking sector is 4,074 constituting 82.3 percent of the number of women working in the sector, and their number in Kuwaiti banks is 3,970 out of 4,810 female workers, or 82.5 percent.

The sources noted that some banks have recently resorted to offering generous offers to employees of other banks, especially Kuwaitis and that this behavior has recently grown, especially with regard to the jobs that are most in demand, in an attempt to lure more employees to fill their vacancies. The sources indicated that this situation led to rapid transfers between bank employees, specifically Kuwaitis, to the extent that some of them only continued in their job for a few months before moving to work in another bank, with a higher name and salary, although their job experience is usually less than the title they got, as well as the salary.

On the other hand, and during their competition for the ‘ghutra and iqal’, some banks are compelled to expose themselves to several risks, perhaps the most prominent of which is the loss of job loyalty, as the leakage of their employees increases to get a quick career leap in their career, which contributes to impeding the growth of human wealth to the hoped-for limits. One of the paradoxes of this case is that the demand for unskilled labor has not actually declined, but rather progressed in a number of areas. Some analyzes attribute the reason for this discrepancy to the increase in the functional value of the Kuwaiti component in banks.

 Employees at the Security and Firefighting Unit in Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) have been exempted from the English language test condition for promotion, reports Al-Rai daily. This came after the Labor Union at the company pointed out that knowledge of the English language was a prerequisite in the recruitment of the above mentioned employees, in addition to the training courses they need to complete throughout the service period.

A member of the union, Jadaan Abdullah Al-Mutairi, revealed to the daily that “more than 1,200 workers in the unit will benefit from the decision to cancel the English test condition for promotion.” He pointed out this is a remarkable achievement by all standards, considering that KOC gave its subsidiaries the freedom to implement what they deem appropriate in terms of promotions based on the nature of the business of each subsidiary. He affirmed the special nature of the functions of the Security and Firefighting Unit as it is the first line of defense, security and precaution against theft and tampering whether inside or outside the fields.

A new fleet of buses was inaugurated and a new logo was launched by Kuwait Public Transport Company (KPTC) on the occasion of its 60th anniversary.

KPTC CEO Mansour Al-Saad said the new logo is intended to emphasize and meet all customers' aspirations and needs by better expressing our advanced services.

In today's announcement, the company announces the launch of a new fleet of buses with the best technological specifications, which he hopes will meet the needs and expectations of customers, meet the highest safety and comfort standards, and keep pace with technological advancements.

The Indian Embassy in Kuwait will be holding an open house on Wednesday, 29 June 2022 at 6 pm with Indian Ambassador Shri Sibi George regarding the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the recruitment of domestic workers signed between India and Kuwait in June 2021, which has now been implemented.

A legal framework has now been established for India's domestic workers in Kuwait, allowing them to streamline their recruitment and benefit from legal protection. Employer and Domestic Workers are both guaranteed rights and obligations by an Employment Contract, including a mechanism that guarantees 24 hour assistance to Domestic Workers. There is also provision for the establishment of a Joint Committee to monitor the MoU's implementation and conduct periodic reviews and assessments.

The Open House is open to all Indian nationals living in Kuwait.

Those who wish to raise specific concerns may send their questions in advance by email to amboff.kuwait@mea.gov.in along with their full name as it appears in passport, passport number, civil identification number, contact number, and address in Kuwait.

New labor examination centers will be opened by the Ministry of Health at Mishref Exhibition grounds starting on Sunday.

As a result of the new center at Mishref, other centers will be less under pressure. With the new center, there will be a total capacity of 4,000 labor examinations per day, making it the largest center nationwide.

The pre-booked dates will determine the dates for the examinations at the new center to ensure smooth operation.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Dr. Hamad Rouh Al-Din, has referred 80 media outlets to the Public Prosecution during the past two weeks, to take the necessary legal measures, reports Al-Qabas daily. The decision also included withdrawing the licenses of 90 electronic newspapers for violations media-related laws.

According to the Ministry of Information, the decision came in implementation of the laws and legislation regulating media work, and a commitment to control media practice in line with responsible freedom and not to allow violating regulatory laws or slipping into media chaos.

The ministry spokesman, Anwar Murad, said the Media Violations Monitoring Committee recommended referring these media outlets, which include electronic newspapers and satellite channels, to the Public Prosecution for broadcasting and publishing news and explicitly violating the media laws (the audio-visual law, the print and publications law and the law on regulating electronic media). The committee has revoked the licenses of the violating electronic newspapers.

Meanwhile, the sources indicated that the Ministry, through the recently formed Media Violations Monitoring Committee, monitors all news accounts, electronic newspapers and satellite channels to ensure compliance with the laws regulating this matter. The committees also stressed on the need to investigate accuracy in publishing news and verify it through official sources, stressing the Ministry’s intention to directly address any media outlet found violating regulatory laws.

According to local Arabic media outlet Al-Rai, the Ministry of Health is getting ready to officially announce the release of the fourth dose of the Corona vaccination.

 The fourth dose will reportedly be voluntary and in compliance with laws, including giving it to the populations most at risk for infection, such as those with chronic conditions, the elderly, and those who have received the third dose for a predetermined amount of time.

From July 1, 2022, the central government is likely to enact a number of new labour legislation. There will be significant adjustments to take-home pay, working hours, employee provident fund (EPF) contributions, and annual leaves, among other things, if everything goes according to plan.

Although there has been talk that these new labour laws will go into effect the following month, no formal announcement has yet been made. According to the government, the laws will improve employment opportunities and encourage investment in the nation.

• Hours of operation and days offEmployees will only be required to work four days per week as a result of the new labour laws. Employees must, however, put in 12 hours every day on those four working days.

The 48-hour weekly work requirement must be reached, the labour ministry had previously stated, if and when the proposal is approved. The restrictions provided by a state government may vary from state to state, but this will be applicable to any industry.

The clause would also specify three weekly days off, which most likely would be Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

• Paycheck amount and PF contributions

The labour regulations take on additional relevance from the perspective of the workers because, once adopted, take-home pay will decrease. However, the corporations will be held more accountable for provident funds.

According to the provisions of the new regulations, the employees' basic pay must equal 50% of their gross pay. The employer's and employee's PF contributions will go up as a result.

• Monthly leaves

The government has also attempted to rationalize the types of leaves that employees can take while still employed. The practices of carrying over unused time to the following year and cashing out leave while still employed are also being rationalized. The minimum number of days of employment needed to qualify for leaves has been lowered under the new labour laws from 240 to 180.

The amount of paid time off, which is one day for every 20 days worked, won't alter, though. Similar to this, no modification has been suggested to the 30-day limit on carrying over and forwarding of leaves.

According to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, the Passport Seva Programme (PSP) would launch a new version, PSP V2.0, to ensure a digital ecosystem among all stakeholders.The minister of external affairs, the Indian government is trying to implement electronic passports that would facilitate foreign travel and provide security against identity theft.

Dr. Jaishankar reaffirmed the government's commitment to strengthening the citizen experience and public service while speaking on the occasion of Passport Seva Divas, which was observed on June 24. In order to establish a digital ecosystem among all stakeholders and provide improved passport services to people, the Minister stated that the Ministry's Passport Seva Programme (PSP) will begin on an updated and improved version of PSP V2.0.

Through standardised and liberalised processes, the new system would provide seamless end-to-end governance. Use cutting-edge developing technology, such as chatbots, big data, sophisticated analytics, etc. "The Ministry is also preparing to bring out e-passports for Indian people," he said. "These will facilitate foreign travel and allow protection against identity theft as well as enhanced data security."

The Minister added that a paperless documentation procedure has been made possible by the integration of the DigiLocker technology with the Passport Seva System. "The Ministry operationalized 428 Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs) to reach our residents at their doorsteps in partnership with the Department of Posts. In 178 of our embassies and consulates overseas, the Ministry has effectively linked the systems for issuing passports, he continued.

In honour of the Passport Seva Divas 2022, he remarked, "It gives me tremendous pleasure to join all our passport issuing authorities in India and overseas." The Minister of External Affairs said, "Even during the difficult periods of the COVID-19 epidemic, passport services were provided. With a monthly average of 900,000 passports issued and 450,000 more applications approved in the previous month, the government broke a record while addressing the increased demand brought on by the epidemic.