[Kuwait] 750,000 Egyptian workers will be laid off

Kuwait has announced that it will lay off 250,000 Egyptian workers in September and suspend all contracts with non-nationals, Middle East Monitor reports.

Some 500,000 further Egyptian workers will lose their jobs over the next year as the Gulf country takes steps to remove all expatriate workers across sectors.

Egyptians make up around 24 per cent of Kuwait's workforce, the Kuwait Times reported in February, making them the largest expatriate group in the country.

Previously the largest group was Indian workers but, according to the same source, they now make up 23.7 per cent of Kuwait's workforce.

According to the State Audit Bureau’s statistics report, only 22.3 per cent of the workforce are Kuwaiti with the remaining 77.7 per cent made up of non-Kuwaitis.

Two years ago, a video which showed a Kuwaiti customer slapping an Egyptian cashier went viral and commentators said it highlighted racism in the country towards Egyptian workers.

In the same year, an Egyptian worker was stabbed to death in Kuwait and a Snapchat influencer referred to Egyptians "filthy servants."

In 2020 Kuwait's parliament proposed a draft law to reduce the number of foreign workers in the country with the aim of getting the number of Egyptians down to ten per cent.

The law stipulated that government agencies should not renew the residencies of foreign workers.

The decision to lay off 750,000 Egyptian workers has come as the cost of living worldwide has soared and many families have struggled to buy essential goods.

Egypt's unemployment rate hit 7.2 per cent this year. The North African state's economy has struggled over recent years due to widespread corruption, the aftermath of the pandemic and now the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Remittances from Egyptians abroad hit $31.5 billion in 2021 and represent a major source of foreign currency, making it the fifth largest recipient of remittances in the world largely from Gulf countries.

Source: Middle East Monitor

(Link via original reporting)

Kuwait has announced that it will lay off 250,000 Egyptian workers in September and suspend all contracts with non-nationals, Middle East Monitor reports.

Some 500,000 further Egyptian workers will lose their jobs over the next year as the Gulf country takes steps to remove all expatriate workers across sectors.

Egyptians make up around 24 per cent of Kuwait's workforce, the Kuwait Times reported in February, making them the largest expatriate group in the country.

Previously the largest group was Indian workers but, according to the same source, they now make up 23.7 per cent of Kuwait's workforce.

According to the State Audit Bureau’s statistics report, only 22.3 per cent of the workforce are Kuwaiti with the remaining 77.7 per cent made up of non-Kuwaitis.

Two years ago, a video which showed a Kuwaiti customer slapping an Egyptian cashier went viral and commentators said it highlighted racism in the country towards Egyptian workers.

In the same year, an Egyptian worker was stabbed to death in Kuwait and a Snapchat influencer referred to Egyptians "filthy servants."

In 2020 Kuwait's parliament proposed a draft law to reduce the number of foreign workers in the country with the aim of getting the number of Egyptians down to ten per cent.

The law stipulated that government agencies should not renew the residencies of foreign workers.

The decision to lay off 750,000 Egyptian workers has come as the cost of living worldwide has soared and many families have struggled to buy essential goods.

Egypt's unemployment rate hit 7.2 per cent this year. The North African state's economy has struggled over recent years due to widespread corruption, the aftermath of the pandemic and now the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Remittances from Egyptians abroad hit $31.5 billion in 2021 and represent a major source of foreign currency, making it the fifth largest recipient of remittances in the world largely from Gulf countries.

Source: Middle East Monitor

(Link via original reporting)