Pay hold eyed on ‘absconding’ labor
KUWAIT CITY, Oct 29, (Agencies): Director of Labor Inspection Department at Manpower Public Authority Sultan Hassan revealed that the department has been coordinating with the Labor Relations Department to form a new method for dealing with absconding cases filed against laborers registered under companies that have governmental contracts, through the suspension of salary transfers to the banks, reports Aljarida daily.
He explained that this method will oblige the concerned laborer to enquire about his situation when he stops receiving his salary, and check whether an absconding case has been filed against him. The activation of this method will completely stop
the problem of fake absconding reports. At the same time, more serious steps must be taken against companies with governmental contracts if they have committed violations. Inspection procedures have revealed that many companies do not follow up to check if the employees registered under them are actually working for them. Such a situation could have due to many reasons such as if the employees have been dismissed and are working in other places, or if they are registered under the same employer but working for a different contract.
Regarding combating visa trafficking, Hassan said the authority is doing everything it can to arrest individuals who are involved in this issue such as by increasing inspections in companies of the private sector.
He revealed that a large number of marginalized laborers were discovered and referred to the concerned authorities for necessary legal measures.
Meanwhile, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor and Minister of State for Planning and Development Affairs Hend Al-Sabeeh underlined Thursday Kuwait’s commitment to ensuring foreign laborers’ financial, legal and human rights and relevant international labor rights conventions.
Kuwait has taken a number of measures to safeguard the rights of foreign laborers, Al-Sabeeh told KUNA via phone during her participation in the third meeting of the labor ministers in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states held in Kuala Lumpur.
She welcomed the skilled Arab and Muslim laborers contribution to the development projects in Kuwait.
The minister said that the three-day conference, themed “Mainstreaming Youth Employment and Occupational Safety in OIC Member States”, will tackle a number of key issues such as the framework of OIC Occupational Safety and Health Network ( OIC-OSHNET), OIC Public Employment Services Network (OIC-PESNET), and Youth Employment Support (YES) Program.
In addition, the conference will finalize and adopt the constituent instrument of the OIC Labor Center, which is expected to be a new specialized institution of the OIC dealing with labor, employment and social protection issues.
Meanwhile, the minister noted that she had met her Moroccan and Djibouti counterparts on the sidelines of the OIC meeting.
The talks with the two ministers focused on bilateral relations and issues of common interest, Al-Sabeeh said.