Kuwait sets new rules for transfer of house workers
Awareness campaign about rights of workers and transfer mechanism launched
Cairo: Kuwait has unveiled a new mechanism for transfer of domestic workers among employers.
The country's Public Authority of Manpower (PAM) has launched an online awareness campaign about rights of workers, and the transfer mechanism.
Accordingly, if the domestic worker is transferred during the six-month guarantee period, set in the law from the date of his/her arrival in Kuwait, without PAM knowledge, the worker’s warranty will be revoked unless a new contract is concluded between the new employer, the hire office, the worker, and PAM, Kuwaiti newspaper Al Anba reported, citing an unspecified source.
Should the worker refuse to continue working during the six-month period, he/she must be handed over to the PAM Department for Regulating the Recruitment of Domestic Workers to guarantee the employer’s right to regain the fees paid to recruit the worker.
Earlier this year, Kuwait announced a grace period, allowing domestic workers to transfer from Visa 20 (domestic sector) to Visa 18 (private sector), a step boosting labour mobility. This type of transfer opened on July 14 and ended on September 12.
As a result, around 55,000 domestic workers have joined the private sector, capitalising on the transfer aimed to offset a shortage in house labourers.
During that period, the Interior Ministry’s Residency Affairs had handled 55,000 applications for transferring from the domestic sector to the private sector, Al Rai newspaper reported, quoting security sources.
The transfers are set to largely contribute to reducing the shortage in house workers at the Kuwaiti labour market, the sources added.
Kuwait, a country of 4.9 million people mostly foreigners, has recently suffered a shortage of domestic workers partially due to a ban on labourers from the Philippines.
In June, Kuwait lifted a visa ban on domestic workers from the Philippines imposed more than a year ago amid a labour dispute. Kuwait said the ban lifting came after reaching an agreement to resolve the row.