KUWAIT CITY, May 21: Kuwait Labor Union (KLU) in a recent symposium held in cooperation with the General Federation of Nepali Trade Unions (Gefont) called for cancellation of the sponsorship system completely, reports Al-Qabas daily.

Member of the Executive Council and Deputy Director of Labor Information Institute Awad Al-Mutairi noted the sponsorship system contradicts international labor standards and human rights conventions, paving the way for trafficking in humans.

Al-Mutairi lamented the sponsorship system grows strong despite the repeated promises by government to end the phenomenon and long wait to see it come to pass. He touched on the issue of domestic workers and called for their inclusion in labor laws.

He wondered why 700,000 expatriates living in a modern country would have illegal status despite issuing relevant laws in 2015 to establish an authority to organize the relationship between domestic workers and their employers.

He indicated strong cooperation between the authority and countries that export laborers to Kuwait and cited a protocol of cooperation signed with Gefont years ago, hoping it’s the right step to fostering friendship between the two sides.