Sudanese replace Asian workers

KUWAIT CITY, May 10: The Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) and Ministry of Interior recently released reports on changes in the domestic labor sector, including the noticeable decline in the number of workers in this sector, reports Al-Qabas daily.

According to the reports, the most important change in the domestic labor market is the citizens’ rising demand for Sudanese workers, especially men; instead of Asians, for various jobs particularly the drivers.

The Sudanese are now part of the top 10 nationalities working in the domestic labor sector, while the Ivory Coast is no longer part of the list; recording a significant decrease in the number of workers from Ivory Coast in 2021 compared to the previous year -- currently estimated at 115,000 workers.

A steep decline in the number of Ethiopian workers was also recorded as about 8,000 of them left Kuwait while 10,000 remained.

The number of Indonesian and Pakistani domestic workers remains stable; as 591,000 of these workers renewed their residency permits last year while 26,000 were found to have violated the Residency Law.

In another development, some domestic labor recruitment offices are planning to suspend operations this week in protest of the decision to impose a fee of KD890 for new contracts, including the air ticket.

The owners of these offices argued that the price of air ticket in this package is about KD150 while the price of a ticket from Manila, Philippines to Kuwait currently ranges from KD235 to KD250. They voiced objection to the allegedly abusive manner of the Ministry of Commerce in dealing with them, calling on Kuwait Union of Domestic Labor Offices to quickly solve the problem.