Lawmakers narrowly defeated a proposal that would have extended the hike to all Kuwaiti employees regardless of salary.
A final vote is due today.
More than 85 percent of the Kuwaiti workforce of 325,000 is employed by the government.
In February, the government raised the salaries of all workers by $ 450 to help them meet soaring inflation, which hit a record 10.14 percent. Expatriate civil servants were awarded $ 188.
But MPs were dissatisfied with the increase and called for an additional 50 dinars. This strained relations with the government, which eventually led to dissolving parliament in March and holding fresh polls two months later.
The new parliament revived calls for a second raise, which the government accepted by limiting it to those under the average.
The government said the latest raise will cost an annual 186 million dinars ($ 700 million), on top of $ 2.8 billion for the first one.
Kuwait, a major oil producer, has financial assets worth more than $ 260 billion.
