Passports, documents of domestic workers held by 92% of employers

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 9: A study found that both employers and domestic workers are not sufficiently aware and familiar with the provisions of the Domestic Employment Act No. 68 of 2015.

The study that was issued by the Kuwait Society for Human Rights regarding the Domestic Workers Employment Act No. 68 for the year 2015, titled ‘Domestic Workers Rights Between Legislation and Enforcement Through the Law 68 for the year 2015’ clarified that acknowledging the law, committing to it and having it enforced are the main important signs to an effective law. The study concluded that the law didn’t reach the minimum needed level of awareness in its enforcement and application fields, as it showed that 62.2 % of the employers who were included in the survey are not aware that the domestic workers law exist in spite of the fact that more than three years have passed since the law was issued. On the other hand 71,59 % of the domestic workers are not aware of it.

Moreover, 91.9% of the employers who were included in the survey claimed that they hold the workers passport with them even when they request to have a law that regulates the work relationship between them and the workers, between them and the recruitment offices too. Which is considered as a law breach – violation “holding passports”.

The study has also revealed that 86.95 % of the recruitment offices owners see that the law failed to provide a positive connection between the recruitment offices and the domestic workers department, This year’s gathering holds much significance given the mounting challenges facing the Gulf region, His Highness the Amir said in his speech, pointing out that the talks come after a spate of ministerial-level meetings held throughout the year.

“We are cognizant of the enormity of the challenges that lie ahead, chief among them the lingering diplomatic crisis, which only behooves us to remain united and work as a cohesive unit,” His Highness the Amir went on to say.

On other perennial concerns, he said terrorism continues to be a grave threat, urging the international community to do everything in its power to rid the world of the scourge.

His Highness the Amir also spoke of “humanitarian disasters” that are unfolding around the region, naming Yemen and Iraq as examples, hoping for definitive solutions to these conflicts.

Regarding Iraq, His Highness the Amir congratulated Baghdad on a successful political transition, wishing the war-torn nation the best of luck as it begins the reconstruction process.

His Highness the Amir called for an early resumption of peace talks, hoping that a comprehensive and permanent deal would be reached according to relevant international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.

Concerning Iran, His Highness the Amir reiterated that relations with Iran are based on UN principles, mainly noninterference in states’ internal affairs, respect of their sovereignty and commitment to

and 78.25 % think that the new terms and conditions to issue or renew a work permit so as to practice their recruitment business are an injustice, complicated terms.

The study has also concluded recommendations such as abolish or reformulate the sponsorship laws ‘Kafala system’ that gives more powers to the employers and ends up with an unequal positions for both parties in the working contract, having the government to hire professional bilingual detectives to handle domestic workers cases, hiring translators for the main spoken languages spoken by domestic workers, obligating recruitment offices to hold workshops and seminars regarding the law for employers working in the offices, providing legal proceedings to be taken by domestic workers in case of a fraud runaway complain and have it to be seen by courts in Kuwait to have a final fair judgment, because the runaway complain on its current legal system is having major shortfalls.

Also, the study was issued recently at the end of this November 2018 and it was a part of a major project called ‘Support’ that the Kuwait Society for Human Rights had it accomplished in cooperation with SDC the Swiss agency for development and cooperation.

The domestic labour sector constitutes one of the largest sectors in the State of Kuwait in terms of the number of workers. To be precise, by the end of 2017, the number of domestic workers reached 669,000(3), equivalent to 27% of the total of migrant workers in the non-governmental private sector in the State of Kuwait, and the majority of individuals working in the domestic labour sector come from Asian countries, such as India, Bangladesh, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, in addition to the African countries, such as Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Cameroon among other African countries.

The State of Kuwait deals directly with migrant domestic workers under the sponsorship system, as in the rest of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. This system imposes many restrictions on the domestic workers, in which the sponsor specifies their work and living conditions, making them vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and forced labour, while stripping them of their fundamental rights at work. This situation is further exacerbated by the difficulty of reaching the departments concerned with monitoring and organizing work, as well as the difficulty of reaching the laws governing and organizing the nature of their work through which they can identify their rights and obligations, and address any exploitation they are subjected to from their employers.

Some of the domestic workers in Kuwait suffer grave abuses, among which the long working hours with no break, long working hours with no additional pay, delayed payment of salary, denial of annual leave or weekly rest day or prohibiting them from going out to spend their weekly rest day, confiscation of passports from sponsors, and physical, psychological and sexual abuse. Many migrant domestic workers are victims of debt bondage as part of their employment conditions from recruitment offices. In most cases, victims are exploited through the violation of the employment contract, and reducing or refraining from paying their wages. This type of behavior led the Kuwaiti government to establish a department for “domestic worker” affiliated with the Ministry of Interior’s General Department of Residence Affairs in order to handle the issues of domestic workers and protect their rights.

Until the end of year 2017, the Department of Domestic Labour announced that it received 2,068 complaints(4), including 1,624 complaints from employers and 81 complaints from recruitment offices, whereas domestic workers’ complaints were limited to 363, i.e. one complaint per day. Pursuant to the law, the Department of Domestic Labour has the jurisdiction over disputes, and where such a settlement is not possible, the dispute shall be referred to the competent court. The total number of cases referred to court from all aforementioned categories reached 304 in 2017, with 86 offices having violated the law, 79 of which had their licenses revoked, and 7 offices temporarily suspended for a period of 3 to 6 months.

Since the beginning of year 2018 and until October, the Department of Domestic Labour has received 2,056 complaints, among which 1,297 from employers, 47 complaints from recruitment offices, and 447 complaints have been referred by the General Authority for Manpower to the Department of Domestic Labour, which the latter received during the period in which the decision of the Council of Ministers No. 614/2018 and that includes the transfer of powers, mentioned in law No. 68/2015 regarding domestic labour, from the Ministry of Interior to the Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Labour, and the General Authority for Manpower. Subsequently, the General Authority for Manpower referred these complaints to the Department of Domestic Labour after a transitional period that ends on March 31/03/2019, while the number of complaints submitted by domestic workers reached 265 complaints only. The number of complaints referred to the court has reached 372 complaints, as for the rest, equal to 1,684 complaints, they were settled amicably through the Department of Domestic Labour (5) .

Many domestic workers are incapable of filing complaints against employers for several reasons, such as: fear of submitting complaints before the Ministry of Interior, or inability to leave the house in which they work, or lack of awareness concerning the Department for reasons related to their non-Arabic language. Whereas the restricted sponsorship system grants sponsors broad powers through which they determine the work and living conditions of the domestic workers.

The Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings, and especially women and children, mentioned in her report to the Human Rights Council in June/2017 the following:

(The sponsorship (Kafala) system, which binds every worker to an employer, is creating a situation of vulnerability which favors exploitative work relationships leading to human trafficking in the domestic work and in other sectors. As there is a lack of capacity of identifying trafficked persons promptly and accurately and the rate of prosecution of cases for trafficking remains very low, thus perpetuating