Domestic workers’ agents warn against shortage, high fees unless more MoUs signed

KUWAIT: Owners of a number of domestic workers’ agencies in Kuwait held a press conference Thursday night to discuss the recent progress regarding the exportation of domestic workers from Philippines and the ban threat that was made, unless a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was to be signed.

In more detail, the President of the Federation of domestic labor in the Philippines – Kuwait branch, Thelma Uanang announced September 2011, to officials the decision of the Ministry of Labor of the Philippines regarding the exportation of domestic workers. The law stipulates providing protection for domestic labor in addition to a special law regulating their work. Uanang also said that an agreement or memorandum of understanding between the two countries needs to be signed in order for the Philippines to continue exporting.

Uanang explained the intention of the Philippine government officials to stop sending workers if the agencies do not abide by the decision of the Ministry of Labor.

Therefore, a representative during the press conference announced that a group of domestic workers’ agents visited Abdul Aziz Al-Ali’s office to send a message to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to thank him for his efforts in overcoming a major obstacle that was facing the agents through signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Philippines during his recent visit there. The agents held a press conference to thank all those involved in the aforementioned efforts; especially the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary, and appealed to the officials of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Interior to sign a similar memorandum of understanding with Indonesia. It is worth noting that Indonesia had decided in 2009 not to send its citizens to work in Kuwait as domestic laborers, which severely impacted the supply and significantly increased the fees and wages which were 40 Kuwaiti dinars to KD 65; especially that Indonesia used to have a market share of 50 percent of domestic laborers in Kuwait. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary had instructed his employees to prepare the memorandum, but the memorandum has not been prepared yet. The agents hoped that this memorandum would be signed before the holy month of Ramadan, in order to meet the demands of the local market.

Al-Ali mentioned that Kuwait’s ambassador in Indonesia Nasser Al-Enezi has exerted sterling efforts to reach a compromise and prepare the Memorandum of Understanding; in addition to the effort exerted by Manager of the Consulate Affairs Department Talal Al-Falah and Councilor Faisal Al-Ateeqi who overcame any legal problems regarding the protection of the domestic laborers and the regular payment of their wages. Al-Ali hoped that the memorandum will be signed as soon as possible, since the current fees for bringing a domestic laborer reached KD 1000.

Moreover, the agents stated that finding a solution to solve the problem with Indonesia is crucial before May, because there will be meetings of the International Labor Organization and the Human Rights Organization, where Kuwait’s name should be lifted off the list of countries that violate the rights of people working. This would be the case after signing this memorandum that stipulates the protection of domestic laborers and their rights.

In addition, the agents showed a circular issued by Sri Lanka’s Embassy in Kuwait, demanding that the agents increase the monthly wages of domestic laborers from Sri Lanka to reach KD 75 for new laborers and KD 85 for those who have been working in Kuwait for the past two years. The agents were asked to comply to this circular effective April 1, 2012.

Furthermore, the agents explained that many Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Arab countries have overcome the problem of domestic laborers by signing a memorandum of understanding with Indonesia, such as Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Qatar, Lebanon, and Jordan.

In related news, Sri Lanka is set to sign a memorandum of understanding with Kuwait to protect the rights of migrant workers in the country, reported Arabian Business on Saturday.

According to Arabian Business, the agreement would cover the estimated 260,000 Sri Lankans employed in the Gulf state which has been criticized in the past for its treatment of foreign workers, the Indo-Asian News Service reported.

According to Sri Lanka’s Bureau of Foreign Employment, there were 14,704 complaints in 2010 alone for breach of employment contracts, non-payment of wages, physical and sexual harassment.

A quarter of its total foreign workforce of eight million works in the Middle East.

The majority of them are women and unskilled workers, working as housemaids in oil rich nations.

“There are 260,000 Sri Lankans employed in Kuwait, of which 75 percent are female workers,” Sri Lanka’s cabinet spokesman Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena was quoted as saying.

The MoU is similar to those already signed with the governments of UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Jordan on the employment of migrant workers, he said.

In January, agreements were signed in Kuwait and Bahrain in a bid to give Nepalese overseas workers better protection.

Kuwait has 40,000 Nepalese workers, with more than half of them female domestic workers, while the majority of men work in the construction industry.

Nepal’s largest employer is the Gulf states, where families depend on making money overseas, but the rapid expansion of migrant labor has taken place without formal protection of workers’ rights.

In 2010, the US State Department urged Gulf countries to scrap their sponsorship system for migrant workers that leaves laborers and domestic workers exposed to human trafficking and forced labor.

In a 373-page report, the department said that employers in the Gulf states exploit the widely used ‘kafala’ (sponsor) system to abuse workers and named Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as the region’s worst offenders. –http://www.gulfji.com/NewsDetails/domestic-workers-agents-warn-against-shortage-high-fees-unless-more-mous-signed-4292.aspx