KUWAIT: The new private sector labor law was officially published on Sunday in the official gazette 'Kuwait Today ,' meaning that all the articles of the new legislation are now officially on the statute books. While the new legislation failed to include any protection for domestic staff, it introduced new private sector employment regulations, including a ban on employing women in most fields and under-15s from working after 10 PM. It also granted mothers-to-be 70 days paid maternity leave, along with giving mothers of young babies a two-hour daily break to breastfeed their child.

The new legislation also bans employers from firing staff in an abrupt manner without following the correct procedures, as well as setting severance pay levels, with departing employees to receive two weeks' salary for each of the first five years of their employment with the company, along with a full month's pay for each of the subsequent years.

The law also established a maximum working week of eight hours per day and six days per week, with all private sector staff having the right to at least one day off per week. All private sector workers also now have the right to a minimum annual paid leave period of 13 days, reported Al-Watan.

On a separate issue, social affairs minister Dr. Mohammed Al-Afasi announced that the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MSAL) is set to switch fully to its automated system beginning from April 4.

Meanwhile, there are plans to establish a new ministries complex for the Ministry of Public Works and Municipality Affairs in the West Shadadiya area, announced minister Dr. Fadhil Safar, with the ministry also set to construct 19 road junctions between Jahra and Shadadiya University.

On another subject, the finance ministry announced that Kuwait's revenue for the 2009/2010 financial year reached KD 14.7 billion, of which KD 6.7 billion was utilized for the payment of expenses, with the total budget surplus set at KD 6.5 billion. - Kuwait Times

Oil revenue for the same period reached KD 13.1 billion, a KD 7 billion on the predicted earnings, while the country's non-oil revenue reached KD 790 million, a KD 395 million fall on the expected income.

The finance ministry's report noted that the revenue from oil comprised 94 percent of the total, compared to 5.4 percent from non-oil revenue. KD 1.5 million will be automatically allocated from the budget surplus to the Future Generations Fund, the report added.