NEw SARS-likE viRUS EMERGES iN MidEASt - Kuwait Times
NEw SARS-likE viRUS EMERGES iN MidEASt - Kuwait Times
NEw SARS-likE viRUS EMERGES iN MidEASt - Kuwait Times
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
By Nawara Fattahova<br />
KUWAIT: Besides the regular problems in<br />
business with customers and products, small<br />
businesses owners are facing obstacles with<br />
the bureaucracy in Ministries and state<br />
authorities. They also complain about different<br />
problems that delay their work and<br />
demand more resources.<br />
One of the most annoying and difficult<br />
obstacles are the limited number of employees<br />
for work, as set by the Ministry of Social<br />
Affairs and Labor. “I wonder how the Ministry<br />
issued such a regulation? They definitely have<br />
no idea about the nature of our work and<br />
needs. They only allowed me to have five<br />
workers and I need at least seven to finish my<br />
work on time, especially after my business has<br />
grown and I receive more cars daily,” Salah, a<br />
29-year old partner of a car wash station in<br />
Shuweikh, told the <strong>Kuwait</strong> times.<br />
The Ministry has also set other conditions<br />
for employing staff. “To limit expats coming<br />
to <strong>Kuwait</strong>, the Ministry is forcing us to hire<br />
those employees already working in the local<br />
market, unless they are university graduates.<br />
DRIVE USB 3.0<br />
USB 2.0<br />
COMPATIBLE<br />
NO POWER<br />
Now, all the workers know this information so<br />
they have demanded increases in their<br />
salaries. So, if before they were receiving KD<br />
80, they are now getting 120, which became<br />
the standard in our business. And if I need to<br />
bring in other workers, I have to attract them<br />
with even higher salaries, which becomes<br />
expensive for my business. Besides, there is<br />
no office in <strong>Kuwait</strong> to search in providing<br />
workers for me,” he pointed out.<br />
“With respect to all nationalities, you know<br />
that the qualification and level of the Bengali<br />
or Indian worker is not on the level of the<br />
Filipino. And for KD 150 I can bring a professional<br />
technician from the Philippines, which<br />
most suits my needs and business, as I’m providing<br />
a high standard of services,” explained<br />
Salah. According to Salah, there is no equity in<br />
applying rules. “The small businesses owners<br />
are oppressed, since they don’t have wasta.<br />
The law is not applied to the big companies,<br />
who can bring any number of employees they<br />
need. Also, the number of employees was set<br />
randomly by the Ministry. For instance, the<br />
car wash on my right side has 10 employees<br />
while the one on my left side has a limit of<br />
STOR.E BASICS<br />
SUPER SPEED STORAGE MADE SIMPLE<br />
����������������������������������������������������������������������������<br />
�� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� � �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� � �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� � ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� � �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� � �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� � �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� � �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� � ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� � ��<br />
��<br />
��<br />
��<br />
��<br />
��<br />
��<br />
��<br />
��<br />
��<br />
��<br />
�<br />
BASICS ALU CANVIO PARTNER EDITION STEEL<br />
500GB<br />
1TB<br />
������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������<br />
������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������<br />
������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������<br />
������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������<br />
������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������ ������������������������<br />
2 LOCAL<br />
five, although we all are in the same business<br />
field,” he added.<br />
“There are even many more problems with<br />
other authorities and we are facing bureaucracy<br />
in paper work at the municipality, the<br />
Ministry of Commerce, the Public Authority<br />
for Industry, Civil Information and many other<br />
offices. If I could go back, I would not choose<br />
to operate this business,” concluded Salah.<br />
Mohammed Al-Naki is a <strong>Kuwait</strong>i businessman<br />
who is also suffering from the problems<br />
of hiring manpower. He decided to find a way<br />
to benefit from solar and wind energy as a<br />
hobby. He fixed wind energy fans at his house<br />
in Salwa, and this attracted people who are<br />
passing from the Mesila bridge on Fahaheel<br />
Road. The shortage of manpower is the<br />
biggest obstacle facing Al-Naqi’s business.<br />
“I suffer from the public bureaucracy and<br />
some unfair rules. I understand that the government<br />
has issued strict rules for importing<br />
manpower, as there are people trading with<br />
laborers and human trafficking. On the other<br />
hand it is unjustified as I need to bring in<br />
technicians from outside and they don’t allow<br />
me to do so,” he added.<br />
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012<br />
Small businesses face host of problems<br />
Bureaucracy tops the list<br />
Man held for armed robbery attempt<br />
KUWAIT: The <strong>Kuwait</strong>i drug trader<br />
pictured after his arrest.<br />
By Hanan Al Saadoun<br />
KUWAIT: The operations department and<br />
patrolling officers at Ahmadi governorate set up<br />
check points and closed areas in the governorate as<br />
they attempted to apprehend a suspect involved in<br />
a failed armed robbery.<br />
Governorate security said that suspect was<br />
arrested after he tried to flee from a checkpoint.<br />
Officials further said the suspect has been previously<br />
arrested for stealing, and after searching his car<br />
police found a gun with six bullets. Other items<br />
found by police included a gun bag with two bullets<br />
inside it, two screwdrivers used for breaking<br />
into and stealing cars, three gold rings, 11 mobiles,<br />
clothes, perfumes, various electronic equipment, as<br />
well as several knives. The witness who reported<br />
the theft was later able to identify the suspect, who<br />
was sent to concerned authorities along with the<br />
materials found with him. Ahmadi security officials<br />
stressed that their campaign shall continue until<br />
they have arrested all outlaws.<br />
Drug trader<br />
Drugs enforcement officers arrested a <strong>Kuwait</strong>i<br />
man on charges of having 1.250 kilograms of<br />
hashish, along with other drugs. Earlier information<br />
was received about the suspect’s selling drugs as<br />
KUWAIT: The items confiscated from the armed<br />
robber yesterday.<br />
well as using them, and based on this information,<br />
permission was received to arrest the suspect in his<br />
apartment. Officials said they found hashish in different<br />
sizes and some pills, as well as a small quantity<br />
of “Shabu” drugs and paraphernalia for using<br />
drugs. The <strong>Kuwait</strong>i man confessed to possessing<br />
the drugs for his own use and for selling. He was<br />
sent, along with the confiscated drugs, to the concerned<br />
authorities.<br />
By Ben Garcia<br />
KUWAIT: A cleaning company’s<br />
employee, who was working at a<br />
hospital and had not been properly<br />
vaccinated by her employer, was<br />
terminated after the company’s<br />
malpractice was revealed to the<br />
Ministry of Health.<br />
The cleaning company, which<br />
has been blacklisted as an employer<br />
by the Philippine government,<br />
provides workers to hospitals, and<br />
fired Filipina Lizel Masucol Bores,<br />
who accidentally pricked her finger<br />
with a used needle while performing<br />
her duties at a private hospital<br />
in <strong>Kuwait</strong>. Following the incident,<br />
Lizel was forced to leave <strong>Kuwait</strong> on<br />
Friday evening after what she<br />
termed as an “illegal termination,”<br />
and expressing her apprehension<br />
for her personal health. The company,<br />
which had initially given an<br />
appointment to this reporter, later<br />
refused to give a statement at their<br />
headquarters in Subhan yesterday.<br />
In a written response submitted<br />
to the Embassy of the Philippines,<br />
the company said that the employee<br />
had been dismissed for violating<br />
company rules.<br />
However, before her departure,<br />
Lizel visited the Philippine Embassy<br />
and signed an affidavit stating her<br />
grievances against her employer<br />
and the circumstances surrounding<br />
her wrongful termination.<br />
Workers and cleaners operating<br />
in hospitals are required by the<br />
Ministry of Health to be vaccinated<br />
against any form of disease, as they<br />
are dealing with sick patients every<br />
day. Doctors, nurses, administrative<br />
staff and other workers, including<br />
porters and cleaners are also<br />
required to be completely vaccinated<br />
for fighting Hepatitis, TB,<br />
and HIV. They are also given several<br />
shots of anti-flu vaccines,<br />
sources from the Ministry of Health<br />
told <strong>Kuwait</strong> <strong>Times</strong>.<br />
“I told the doctor at the Mubarak<br />
Hospital that I had only been vaccinated<br />
with two Hepatitis shots. The<br />
doctor then told me that I should<br />
have been given a complete set of<br />
vaccinations, which are mandatory<br />
for hospital workers,” Lizel told The<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> <strong>Times</strong>. This, she says, was<br />
the primary reason for her termina-<br />
KUWAIT: A number of high school teachers staged a sit in outside the Ministry of<br />
Education’s building yesterday, in protest against a decision to separate teachers<br />
from their children in the same school. The teachers complained that the<br />
decision affected them and their children negatively, and also questioned their<br />
integrity. Assistant Undersecretary for Public Education Mohammad Al-Kandari<br />
released a statement reasserting that the decision is final.<br />
— Photo by Fouad Al-Shaik<br />
INFO, planning secretariat<br />
general join WEF sponsors<br />
KUWAIT: The Ministry of<br />
Information and the Supreme<br />
Planning Councilís Secretariat<br />
General have joined the sponsors<br />
of the GCC Women Economic<br />
Forum (WEF), which will be held<br />
today and is entitled, ‘GCC Women<br />
and Investment Opportunities.’<br />
The event has been organized<br />
under the aegis of Sheikhah Ayeda<br />
Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah.<br />
The General Manager of the<br />
Leaders Group and the Head of<br />
the Organizing Committee,<br />
Nabila Al-Anjeri thanked the<br />
Minister of Information Sheikh Abdullah<br />
Mohammed Abdullah Al-<br />
Mubarak Al-Sabah, his Undersecretary<br />
Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud<br />
and the Supreme Planning Council represented<br />
by Minister of State for Planning<br />
and Development Dr. Rola Dashti. ‘Those<br />
two sponsors are a symbol of the government’s<br />
support for the forum, which will<br />
establish <strong>Kuwait</strong>’s reputation as a leading<br />
GCC country in PR, women rights and as<br />
far as GCC’s investment and economic<br />
activities are concerned,’ she said. Al-Anjeri<br />
also thanked the other sponsors that<br />
included the INTREPRENEUR magazine,<br />
GOOD HEALTH magazine, published by<br />
Sheikh Mohammed<br />
Filipina worker<br />
wrongfully terminated<br />
tion. “My employer immediately terminated<br />
my contract. I will leave<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> with a heavy heart because I<br />
still haven’t repaid the loan I took for<br />
paying the placement fee to a<br />
recruitment company in Philippines,”<br />
she said, before boarding the plane<br />
to the Philippines on Friday.<br />
Another employee working in<br />
the same company confirmed to<br />
this reporter that all his co-workers<br />
including himself were yet to be<br />
fully vaccinated.<br />
Lizel arrived in <strong>Kuwait</strong> on<br />
November 3, 2011. She paid KD350<br />
as a placement fee that enabled<br />
her to get a job in <strong>Kuwait</strong>. She hasn’t<br />
repaid the loan yet. “I got<br />
pricked on August 23. I went to the<br />
hospital on August 26. Hepatitis<br />
and HIV tests will be conducted<br />
after three months, which will be<br />
on November 26, since the incubation<br />
period for these diseases is up<br />
to three months,” Lizel stated. She<br />
argued that the company had fired<br />
her to avoid taking any responsibility<br />
for the incident. She said, “They<br />
terminated my contract immediately.”<br />
However, Lizel’s reunion with<br />
her family back home only after 10<br />
months will not be a happy affair. “I<br />
don’t want to go home now,<br />
because I need to repay the loan<br />
first. Besides, what if I actually contracted<br />
a disease from the used<br />
needle? I was scheduled to be back<br />
at the hospital for Hepatitis and<br />
HIV testing, but how can I undergo<br />
those checks when they have<br />
already terminated my contract,”<br />
Lizel told the <strong>Kuwait</strong> <strong>Times</strong>. Besides<br />
illegal dismissal from work, Lizel<br />
cited other instances of the company<br />
violating its contracts. “We were<br />
made to work 16 hours a day without<br />
payment of overtime and our<br />
accommodation was really poor.<br />
We had signed contracts to work<br />
for KD120 a month but we were<br />
actually only paid KD80. We are<br />
also asked by our supervisors to<br />
work 16 hours, which amounts to<br />
an additional eight hours, which<br />
remain unpaid; sometimes we<br />
received only KD2.6 as fee for the<br />
extra eight-hour duty,” she said.<br />
The Philippine Labor Attache in<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> David Des Dicang, confirmed<br />
Lizel’s complaints and<br />
Nabila Al-Anjeri<br />
Sheikhah Entisar Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah, the<br />
UNIDO, CBK, the <strong>Kuwait</strong> Fund for Arab<br />
Economic Development, the <strong>Kuwait</strong><br />
Financial Center, the Gatehouse Bank, KPC,<br />
KSPDC and KAC.<br />
Various GCC and foreign delegations<br />
participating in the forum have already<br />
started arriving for the inauguration slated<br />
for 9:00 a.m. this morning at the Al-<br />
Thuraya Hall in <strong>Kuwait</strong>’s J.W. Marriott<br />
Hotel.<br />
Al-Anjeri also thanked all GCC and<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong>i media sponsors for the forum,<br />
including the Al-Watan, the Al-Qabas, the<br />
Annahar and the Al-Anbaa newspapers.<br />
promised to assist her further from<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong>. “We already wrote a letter<br />
to her company and have informed<br />
them about Lizel’s complaints.<br />
According to her she was illegally<br />
terminated because she reported<br />
the vaccination matter to the<br />
Ministry of Health.<br />
The company responded and<br />
informed us that Lizel was terminated<br />
because of her many<br />
employment violations, which they<br />
have included in the response.<br />
Lizel has denied these violations,”<br />
Dicang said. He added that the<br />
company had already been suspended<br />
since January 1, 2012. “We<br />
at POLO have written a letter to the<br />
POEA, asking them to investigate<br />
the company and the recruitment<br />
agency, because we have received<br />
repeated complaints from workers.<br />
We receive complaints from<br />
Filipinos employed with this company<br />
almost every month,” he said.<br />
They were already suspended from<br />
our list of legitimate companies<br />
and they cannot be allowed to<br />
employ Filipino workers at all. The<br />
company owner had told us that<br />
they need Filipino workers and that<br />
they could lose their contracts if<br />
they were unable to provide additional<br />
workers.<br />
We told them, the company<br />
should only follow what is stated in<br />
the contracts. We’ve got many<br />
complaints from the workers, who<br />
also pointed out that many of the<br />
provisions in the new contacts are<br />
not implemented.” Dicang said,<br />
elaborating that, for example, the<br />
monthly salary should be above KD<br />
120, but the workers were only getting<br />
paid KD80. They should work<br />
ideally be working only eight<br />
hours, but were made to work for<br />
16 hours without overtime pay,” he<br />
said. “The company has refuted<br />
these complaints,” he said and<br />
questioned their stance by saying,<br />
“If these complaints are untrue,<br />
why are so many people complaining?<br />
The recruitment agency from<br />
the Philippines has also lost our<br />
confidence and if they violate rules<br />
again, they will risk suspension too.<br />
Also, if they have charged more<br />
money than required, we will ask<br />
them to refund that money,”<br />
Dicang noted.