Expatriates constitute more than 95 per cent of the workforce in Kuwait’s private sector and there is an urgent need to revamp employment policies, a senior official has said.

There are currently a total of 1.466 million foreign workers employed in the private sector, added The Times Kuwait report, quoting Ahmad Al-Mousa, deputy director general of Labour Recruitment Sector in the Public Authority for Manpower.

The number of Kuwaitis working in the private sector accounted for less than five per cent of the total, according to the latest employment figures, prompting the Authority to call for urgent reorganization in the country’s recruitment and employment policies, the report said.

Al-Mousa said the move was necessary to ensure that only skilled labourers are brought into the country.

The decision to cut the expatriate numbers was taken after studying Kuwait’s current population structure, its labour market needs and the actual employee requirements of companies, Al-Mousa said.

The work permits of 22,019 expatriate workers had been cancelled as of this month for staying outside the country beyond that specified period, and a further 27,425 work permits were terminated after the workers decided to permanently leave the country, explained Al-Mousa.

Employers with governmental contracts are now able to complete their transactions electronically including the renewal and cancellation of their employees’ work permits.