Kuwait City: The owners of domestic workers’ recruitment offices staged a protest in front of the Ministry of Health today demanding that the Ministry allows for the reissuing of visas and gradual return of domestic workers.
The office owners called on the Ministry of Health to take measures similar to those of neighboUring Gulf countries with regards to the recruitment of domestic workers, including but not limited to strict travel regulations.
The group announced that they have lost around 6.7 million Kuwaiti dinars since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
They added that there is a large number of domestic workers with expired visas that are unable to return to their home country and are stuck in Kuwait.
Fate of domestic workers
Last week, the Telegraph reported that many domestic workers want to leave their employment in the Gulf, due to long working hours and being at risk of physical abuse.
In response, acting Director General of the Public Authority for Manpower, Dr. Mubarak Al-Azmi announced that the Domestic Workers Department of the Employment Protection Sector in the Authority transferred 803 complaints from domestic workers to the judiciary, Al Qabas reported.
He reaffirmed that Kuwait provides comprehensive care for domestic workers and that their complaints will be dealt with seriously.
Al Azmi pointed out that as per Law No. 68 of 2015 all domestic workers are legally entitled to specified working hours, one day off a week and an annual leave.
In 2015, the National Assembly passed a law granting domestic workers the right to 30 days paid leave per year, one day off per week and a maximum 12-hour working day with rest. Then in 2016, a decree by Interior Minister, Sheikh Mohammad Khaled Al Sabah, led to the creation of a minimum wage of 60 Kuwaiti dinars for domestic workers.
Effect of no new issues
With visas for domestic workers halted, the average salary for domestic workers in the black market has reached 400 Kuwaiti dinars (Dh4,795), the head of the Domestic Workers Recruitment office Union, Khaled Al Dakhan announced last month.
Since no new visas are being issued and the travel ban is still in place, many domestic workers are leaving their current employment and entering the black market.
This is not the first time Kuwait has placed a ban on recruitment of domestic workers from abroad.
In April 2019, Kuwait added Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Bhutan, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the list of banned countries bringing the total to 20. According to Migrant Rights, the bans are put in place mainly due to the fact that these countries lack embassies and labour corporations in Kuwait.
Earlier this year, the Philippines temporarily halted the recruitment of domestic workers to Kuwait after a Filipino domestic worker was sexually abused and killed by her employer.
In an interview with Al Jarida, Al Dakhan mentioned that Filipinos make up the largest number of domestic workers, followed by Sri Lankans.
Black market surge
Due to the closure of recruitment agencies, brokers have been providing domestic workers’ services illegally and at a high price, thus taking advantage of the lack of competition.
These brokers have been advertising the services of domestic workers for 25 Kuwaiti dinars per hour and 250 Kuwaiti dinars per month.
The illegal domestic workers’ network divides the sum between the broker and the domestic worker. The domestic worker gets 10 Kuwaiti dinars for four hours of work and 15 Kuwait dinars goes to the broker, a source told Al Qabas.
A source from the Public Authority for Manpower pointed out that the domestic workers entered Kuwait through recruitment agencies and then they quit their jobs, thinking that they will be able to make more money working for various employers rather than just one.
