Cairo: Kuwaiti authorities have announced the arrest of an unspecified number of domestic workers who were found to be in violation of the country’s labour laws.
These workers were apprehended in Bnaid Al Gar, a suburb of Kuwait City where they resided among other expatriates. According to the Interior Ministry, the violators were transferred to a labour accommodation center where their needs are being attended to with a commitment to humanitarian principles.
The ministry posted a video showing the arrest of the violators and their subsequent transfer to the sheltering facility.
Under Kuwaiti law, domestic workers are required to reside with their employers, although the nationalities of the workers were not disclosed.
The crackdown comes as Kuwait faces a deadline for foreign violators of residency rules to legalise their status, which has been extended until June 30. Originally set to expire on June 17, the three-month amnesty period allows illegal expatriates to adjust their residency or depart the country without penalty. As of now, there are no official figures on how many expatriates have taken advantage of this amnesty.
The amnesty, initiated on March 17, permits irregular expatriates with passports to depart Kuwait without fines, while those without travel documents can obtain new ones for departure.
Expatriates who fail to rectify their status during the grace period risk arrest, deportation, and being banned from re-entering Kuwait. Kuwait has a total population of 4.8 million, including approximately 3.3 million foreigners.
