Workers take refuge in embassies
No radical solution found to crisis: expert
KUWAIT CITY, Nov 5: A specialist in domestic labor affairs Bassam Al-Shammari affirmed that the current period is witnessing a return of the phenomenon of overcrowding of domestic workers inside the embassies of their countries in Kuwait, reports Aljarida daily.
He explained that the building of the embassy of a particular country, which is considered as the first supplier of domestic workers to Kuwait, is filled to the brim with female domestic workers. They include those who reported as absconding by their employers, or those with disputes between them and their sponsors and were unable to resolve their disputes amicably. Following the legal process through the Public Authority for Manpower takes a long time and they end up not receiving their full dues.
Al-Shammari attributed the reason behind the exacerbation of this phenomenon once again to the decline of the role entrusted to the labor shelters of the Manpower Protection Sector in the authority. This is based on the speedy containment of disputes that may erupt between female workers and their employers. This accumulation has prompted some embassies to issue internal circulars requiring the non-ratification of transactions of any local recruitment company or office with more than five domestic workers encountering problems with their sponsors.
He called on all relevant authorities, led by the Department for Regulating the Recruitment of Domestic Workers, to focus on correcting previous mistakes, and preventing the accumulation of domestic workers within the embassies of their countries, especially since such accumulation has been the most prominent reason for stopping the supply of the labor force of a particular nationality in the past.
He indicated that the continuation of the phenomenon of seeking refuge in these embassies shows the government’s inability to find radical solutions to the crisis.
Al-Shammari warned of the increase in labor disputes and the consequent reluctance of new female workers to come to the Kuwaiti market because they do not feel safe inside it, given the reluctance of the relevant authorities to provide them with legal protection, or find a proper solution for disputes that erupt between them and their employers.
Wishing to sell leave: The Ministry of Finance has requested the concerned ministries and government agencies to submit an estimated budget to cover their needs for purchasing the leave days of their employees who are wishing to sell them, reports Al-Rai daily.
On Tuesday Nov 1, the National Assembly approved the general budget including a budget of KD 300 million for “selling leave days”.
According to informed sources, the authorities began submitting their estimates in this regard, after the Civil Service Commission (CSC) issued a decision to set new conditions for the selling of leave days.
The old requests have become invalid again after amending the conditions for selling leave days. Ministries and government agencies will open the door again to receive requests from their employees in accordance with the new conditions.
The sources said, “The majority of government agencies receive their employees’ requests in an automated manner. This speeds up the process of listing the eligible ones. It is expected that the amounts related to the sale of the leave days will be disbursed within a period of two to three weeks from the end of registration.
The value of selling leave days varies from one party to another depending on the number of eligible employees as well as those willing to sell their leave days.”
Asians outnumber Kuwaitis: The latest statistics released by the Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI) revealed that Asians outnumbered Kuwaitis by the middle of this year – 1,670,013 compared to 1,502,138 citizens, reports Al-Seyassah daily.
Arabs ranked third with 1,217,014; North Americans ranked fourth with 755, followed by Europeans in fifth place with 617, non-Arab Africans ranked sixth with 104, Australians ranked seventh with 43, and South Americans in the last place with 40.