Kuwait to recruit domestic helpers from Africa

Manama: Kuwait is mulling recruiting more domestic helpers from Africa in a major shift from traditional Asian providers, a local daily said.

The decision is attributed to the attitudes of some Asian countries that included imposing conditions and, at times bans, on their nationals taking up work in Kuwait and insisting on specific clauses in the employment contracts deemed "excessive" by sponsors, Al Anba newspaper reported on Monday.

Ethiopia has been providing domestic helpers for Kuwait, and the authorities are now contacting other African countries as well, with their ambassadors accredited in Kuwait City expressing keen interest in the initiative, the daily said.

Kuwait has around 660,000 domestic workers, almost entirely Asian, who make up almost one quarter of the 2.2 million foreigners in the country.