Amendments to the labor law in the private sector raising annual leave to 35 days are harmful to the national economy and Kuwaiti businessmen, said Minister of State for Economic Affairs Mariam Al-Aqeel.

After the National Assembly passed the amendments in the first reading more than three weeks ago, mainly to increase annual leave from 30 to 35 days, the government, which voted in favor of the amendments, backtracked and decided to reject the changes.

The rejection came at a meeting of the Assembly’s health and labor committee attended by the minister, during which she explained the “great damage” the amendments would inflict on the national economy and on the interests of Kuwaiti businessmen, especially small businesses. The minister explained that the workforce that will benefit from the amendments “include a small number of Kuwaitis and a large section of others”, which refered to expatriate work force.