Recruitment of Indian Female Domestic Workers in Kuwait May Resume Soon

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior has submitted a memo to the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denoting the success of negotiations held between Kuwait Domestic Labor Department and officials from the Indian embassy, regarding hiring of female Indian domestic workers, Al-Anba daily reported.

Procedures for hiring them may get started next week, after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs takes the required steps, the publication reported, citing a security source. The Domestic Labor Department has been able to settle all matters that were deferred, to bring female Indian domestic workers to Kuwait, the report added. The recruitment of female Indian domestic workers in Kuwait was suspended for three years.

The meeting included discussions regarding domestic labor law, including the rights of domestic workers, especially their salaries, hours of work and guarantees regarding their rights in case of infection or death.

The issue of domestic workers has been ongoing in Kuwait. In January, Philippines decided not to send its workers to the country after reports emerged that they were abused by employers, driving many Filipinos to commit suicide.

An undercover investigation conducted by Arab Times recently showed that the crisis has led to an existence of a black market of domestic workers, with some people exploiting the issue to make profits in a twisted manner.

The publication found as part of the probe that the representatives of the foreign offices where domestic workers are recruited collate the contact details of employers so they can home deliver the employees. In one of the shopping complexes, that have some of these offices, the daily met a representative from a Mumbai-based recruitment company who was in search of prospective employers. These representatives loiter around the recruitment offices, and get hold of employers even before they can go inside the offices by offering them a commission fee that is reasonable as well as irresistible, the report added. This representative was offering to provide the employer an inexperienced Indian worker for a monthly salary of KD 80, while an experienced domestic help was available for a salary of KD 100 per month while the agent charged KD 672, the Arab Times reported.

In order to hire a domestic worker through the government accredited offices, the employer will have to pay KD 990.

Many Kuwaiti citizens feel that they are on the losing end and want domestic workers soon at prices that are affordable, especially with Ramadan approaching fast.

A manager at an exports office told the daily that his office in India would also be able to provide new Indian domestic workers for KD 672 with a monthly salary of KD 80-KD 100, the report added.