Kuwait places restrictions on companies accused of abusing workers

Kuwait City: Kuwait has placed restrictions on five companies accused of abusing foreign workers, most of them cleaners from Asian countries, the countyr's labour minister said on Thursday.

The companies will be prevented from receiving government contracts and their business licenses could be revoked, Bader Al Duwailah was quoted as saying in the Al-Watan daily.

The measures were the toughest yet since thousands of labourers from Bangladesh demonstrated last month to demand pay increases and better living conditions. Some of the protests turned violent and hundreds of labourers who took part in them were deported.

Al-Duwailah was quoted as saying that the ministry will "not hesitate" to punish companies that delay payment of salaries or fail to provide workers with suitable housing.

He made the comments at a news conference Wednesday, the newspapers said. Officials at the Labor Ministry could not be reached Thursday to confirm his remarks.

After July's protests, the government set a minimum wage of 40 dinars, or US$150, a month for workers contracted by private companies to clean its offices, schools and
hospitals.

Most had been making only half that in an oil-rich country where inflation has reached 11 percent and citizens pampered with a generous welfare system are demanding the government increase food subsidies.

Like other Gulf nations, Kuwait depends on the migrant workers who dominate its private sector. Complaints about the lack of payment and physical abuse are common among unskilled labourers and domestic helpers who come from poorer Asian countries.

Shahriar Kader Siddiki, labour secretary at the Bangladeshi Embassy, welcomed the clampdown, which he said will force "other companies to make better arrangements for their workers." However, he worried about what will happen to labourers if these firms are closed down.