KUWAIT: Scrapping the ‘kafeel system’ (sponsorship system) is a welcome move, but addressing the concerns and issues of domestic helpers can go a long way, the Ambassador of the Philippines to Kuwait said. In a cordial meeting held with Abd Al-Rahman Alyan, Kuwait Times Editor-in-Chief, the Philippine Ambassador Shulan Primavera welcomed the news on the amendments made to the kafeel system. He, however, expressed slight hesitation. Primavera paid a visit to Kuwait Times office yesterday where he held a meeting with the newspaper’s Editor-in-Chief. Both sides discussed a host of issues.
Taking the point further, Primavera recommended that the government closely consider addressing the issues and concerns of domestic helpers. This, he said, could help repair Kuwait’s international image, “Kuwait’s name has taken a battering because of the domestic helpers’ issues, on the international front. If the concerns of domestic helpers are addressed, it can help Kuwait greatly and can go a long way,” Primavera stressed. “Cancelling the ‘kafeel’ system is one great move that will surely help expatriate workers, but it will also help Kuwait if the concerns of domestic helpers are given priority,” he reiterated.
Primavera pointed out that other workers’ concerns are well-protected by the Kuwaiti labor law, unlike the domestic helpers, a segment that is most vulnerable. The domestic helpers’ concerns in Kuwait are handled by the Ministry of Interior(MoI), and they are not covered by the new labor law. Just three days ago, the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Mohammed Al-Afasi, announced that the ‘kafeel system’ would formally come to an end in February.
According to the ‘kafeel’ system, all foreign workers are required to be sponsored by Kuwaiti employers, which places them at the mercy of their bosses. If February’s promise materializes, Kuwait will become the second Gulf country to abolish the system, after Bahrain. Manama had likened the sponsorship system to modern-day slavery. –Ben Garcia, Staff Writer
World Day for Safety and Health at Work
“Safety and health at work every day!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations against serious violations of Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government
(NUG) of Myanmar.
Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideos
Monthly Observances:
March – Women’s Role in History Month
April – Month of Planet Earth
Weekly Observances:
Last Week of March: Protection and Gender Fair Treatment of the Girl Child Week
Last Week of April – World Immunization Week
Daily Observances:
Mar 25 – International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transallantic Slave Trade
Mar 27– Earth Hour
Apr 21 – Civil Service Day
Apr 22 – World Earth Day
Apr 28 – World Day for Safety and Health at Work
