Kuwait municipality plan to lay off 60% expat employees

Kuwait - The Municipality is preparing to review various expats' contracts, positions and qualifications to assess salaries - as well as a list of those to be laid off.

Kuwait Municipality's financial and administrative sector is planning to lay off 60 per cent of expatriates among the employee force, Kuwait Times has reported.
The Municipality is preparing to review various expats' contracts, positions and qualifications to assess salaries - whether to decrease or increase salaries, as well as amending job descriptions and titles. 
Also read: Saudi considers 'permanent residency' system for expats
Those who failed to do their job or are not regular at work or hold fake degrees, will be laid off. 
Informed sources at the municipality said that the sector has already started preparing the lists under the supervision of the municipality's deputy director Waleed Al Jassim.
The sources stressed that many of the expats had been recruited by 'wasta' or 'special reference', that gave them special privileges they are not entitled to. Even their qualifications did not match the job role.
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"This might open the door for terminating around 60 percent of them," said the sources. It was reported in February that Kuwait's state departments had been asked to lay off "unnecessary" expats by the end of the year, Kuwait Times further reported.
Expats make up 70 percent of Kuwait's population.
Earlier in 2015, an annual Expat Insider survey by InterNations ranked Kuwait the least popular of 64 countries for expats to live.
Also read: Expats welcome Saudi Arabia's 'permanent residency' plan 
Recently Kuwaiti parliament also passed a bill allowing the government to raise power and water charges for foreign residents.

• Kuwait
• MENA