After discovering that public sector employees were cheating the existing attendance registration systems, many ministries and public bodies installed a new system of registering staff attendance, the fingerprint system. This system, installed in various agencies, faced many objections. Some employees even held public protests against this system, finding it to be ineffective and complaining that it limited their freedoms.

Staff opposed to the fingerprint system were determined to discover new ways to fool it, with rumors spreading earlier this year that certain devices imported from abroad could transfer an individual's fingerprint onto a rubber or plastic object, which could then be used by another person to falsely register that staff member's presence, without the staff member in question actually needing to be there. These rumors were not confirmed by any of the various ministries' employees interviewed by the Kuwait Times.

The system was installed in different ways in the various locations. In some, it was introduced along with a closed-circuit TV (CCTV) camera, installed on the top of the fingerprint machine. This prevented employees from being able to cheat by having anyone else sign in in their place. In some places, however, there are no such controls in place to prevent abuses by ingenious employees.

Many employees are unhappy at having this system in their workplaces. "I'm totally unhappy with this system. Sometimes we face some situation on our way to work, and with this system we have to get there exactly on time, and even our colleagues can't sign on behalf of us. And if we are only a few minutes late they will deduct that from our salary. The old system was better, and this the opinion of most of my colleagues," said Ahmad, a 26-year-old firefighter with one of the local brigades that introduced the new system.

Some employees, however, don't feel that there's any major difference between the old way of clocking-in and out using punch-cards and the new fingerprint system beyond the different technology, while others see more advantages in the new system. Sara, a 28-year-old Ministry of Education employee, told the Kuwait Times that she believes the new system is fairer: "I think it protects the employees' rights. If you stay longer in the office, you'll be paid for the overtime," she said.

She acknowledged that there are some disadvantages in the fingerprint system, particularly for lazier staff members. "This system forces the lazy employees to sign in before they leave immediately. She added "I've seen employees who came to sign in wearing pajamas, then leave immediately to go back home to sleep." She believes that the current lack of control over employees' attempts to cheat the new system should be countered by introducing CCTV cameras or at least a security guard to monitor those using it. "Without having this, there is no sense in using this system," Sara added.

Overall, the majority seem to support the introduction of the new system. Khalid, a 45-year-old employee with a government shareholding firm, said, "I'm with this system 100 percent. [It] was installed in our company's new building two years ago and I got used to it. I think it has many more advantages and positive aspects than it does disadvantages. For instance, if any employee has a car accident during working hours, he'll be fully compensated. Also if he gets into conflict [over his attendance] with his employer, he can easily prove himself with the fingerprint system.

Khalid agrees with Sara that only the lazy employees oppose the fingerprint system's introduction. "I'm the head of the department and I'm the first to come to work," he told the Kuwait Times. "So I'm the example for employees working under me, and I can punish them for being late. I come early, so I don't face traffic jams, and even if I want to leave in the middle of the working day and come back, the system will register it. I think it teaches the employees to respect their timing and appointments. - Kuwait Times