KUWAIT CITY, May 25: The Kuwait Society for Human Rights commends the significant administrative changes with regard to the file of migrant workers in Kuwait, especially domestic workers, which, according to Ministerial Resolution No. 22 of 2022 issued on April 21 regarding the executive regulations of Law No. 68 of 2015 regarding domestic workers, received an annual paid leave of one month. At least, after she was subject to various estimates, and she was also able to move to another employer, and her additional working hours were set at a maximum of two hours per day, with a halfday wage.

The Kuwait Society for Human Rights had carried out a process of monitoring the administrative changes related to the employment file in Kuwait during the first third of 2022, and it monitored the issuance of a number of various decisions and circulars, beginning with allowing the Public Authority for Manpower to issue work permits for those who reached the age of sixty years and above who hold a certificate The high school stage or less or its equivalent certificates, through the issuance of Circular No. (3) from the Public Authority for Manpower to regulate some procedures of offices and companies recruiting domestic workers, as well as the return of work with the validity of entry visas to the country to 3 months, and the launch of the Public Authority for Manpower and the Ministry of The Ministry of Interior pays and prints the electronic civil work entry visa through the companies’ platform on the official website of the Ministry, in addition to the issuance of Circular No. (1) for the year 2022,

The Public Authority for Manpower regarding (requests for final cancellation of travel - cancellation and transfer outside the sector), and the launch of a new service through an application Facilitate individuals for government transactions, as it has become possible to inquire about the date of the session for a labor complaint that is included in the list of (inquiry services), ending with Ministerial Resolution No. 22 for 2022

KSHR issues report about status of migrant workers in the State of Kuwait

The following is the first part of the full report of the Kuwait Society for Human Rights (KSHR) on the Annual Third Observation About the Status of Migrant Workers in the State of Kuwait

An introduction to the report
The Kuwait Society for Human Rights is implementing an activity under the name (Together 3) that aims to raise awareness and educate migrant workers and workers in Kuwait about their rights guaranteed by law, and to assist and support them in obtaining their rights. The project is being implemented in partnership with the US-Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI). The Together 3 project provides legal advice and psychological, social and legal support to migrant workers and workers in Kuwait. Its services can be used in Arabic, English, Filipino, Hindi, Urdu and French by calling the hotline number 22215150 or visiting the online platform www.togetherkw. org , which contains seven Languages are Arabic, English, Filipino, Hindi, Urdu, Sri Lankan and Ethiopian. These services, in addition to other activities included in the project, through which the association aspires to continue its civil activity by assuming its responsibilities in order to create a culture and legal awareness among immigrant workers in the State of Kuwait.

This report:
It is one of the activities of the project, as it deals with the reality of work in Kuwait, and it is specialized in monitoring what is happening in the field of work in terms of legal and administrative changes, negative and positive, and reading the dimensions of those variables on migrant workers and their impact on Kuwaiti society, and the vision of the State of Kuwait 2035, and its international obligations towards the human rights file.

It also reviews the efforts of the Kuwait Society for Human Rights in providing support services to migrant workers and workers in Kuwait, which are ongoing efforts that are provided in various partnerships, especially with the European Union mission in Kuwait. The report monitors the events of the first third of 2022 (January, February, March, and April) and is issued according to the following:
■ Complaints received by the Kuwait Society for Human Rights through the electronic platform of the Ma’anTogether 3 project and the hotline that receives workers’ complaints and inquiries in Arabic, Hindi, English, Filipino, Urdu, and French.
■ Administrative decisions issued during the reporting period.
■ Communicating and coordinating with specialized government agencies to find out the latest statistics and indicators related to labor issues.
■ Highlights of what is circulated in media sites, electronic newspapers and social media. First the activities of the Kuwait Society for Human Rights in advocating the rights of workers and migrant workers in Kuwait.

1 / Services Provided: During the reporting period, the Kuwait Society for Human Rights provided a number of services to protect the rights of migrant workers and workers in Kuwait and to raise their legal and legal awareness, which are the following: A / Raising workers’ awareness of their rights: One of the important services that the association has led since 2016 is raising the awareness of workers and workers about their rights stipulated in the Kuwaiti Labor Law No. 6 of 2010 and Domestic Labor Law No. 68 of 2015 and the administrative decisions regulating the labor market through the hotline service and Ma’anTogether Together platform The following table shows what has been accomplished:

Table No. (1) shows the number of calls received via the hotline and the electronic platform. B / Psychosocial support: The Kuwait Society for Human Rights has developed a new activity, which is providing psychological and social support service to migrant workers and workers in Kuwait, and the following table shows the number of cases that have been dealt with by nationality and gender.

Table No. (2) shows the number of psychosocial support cases that have been provided. C / Legal representation and friendly solutions: Since 2019, the association has been solving cases of migrant workers and workers through direct negotiation with the employers and the parties they work with. It requires this and falls within specific criteria set by the association in advance, and during the reporting period, no case was referred to the team of lawyers, but it was resolved amicably. The following table shows the number of cases that it dealt with

Table No. (4) shows the number of complaints received by the association and provided with solution. 2 / The most prominent issues that the association dealt with: The association receives continuously complaints from migrant workers and workers in Kuwait, and identifies the type of problem and the way to deal with it, some cases need legal support, some need psychological support, some need social support, and some cases need legal support Friendly communication with the employer, and some cases require field visits to police stations, for example, or work injury cases that require visits to hospitals to follow up on the condition of the injured, or cases that require a visit to labor courts to guide workers or help them with translation, especially since many of the complainants are not proficient Speak Arabic or English. During the reporting period, we were following a prominent case of a Sri Lankan worker who has not received her salaries for 10 years, and has not been allowed to return to her country, and her residency has not been renewed for 8 years, and she is at the head of her work until now, and we have taken the necessary action, as We informed the Sri Lankan Embassy about this, and we submitted an official complaint to the Department of Domestic Workers, to investigate the case and take the necessary action. In addition, there are cases of domestic violence, cases of rape and human trafficking, and such cases we transfer to the concerned authorities directly with the need to inform the embassy of the case, and in the following table we review some of the cases received by the association during the reporting period:

Table No. (5) The most prominent issues that reached the association and the mechanism for dealing with them 3 / Visits and Meetings in Support of the Workers’ rights file: On March 13, a delegation from the Canadian embassy visited the headquarters of the association headed by Ambassador Alia Mwani, the consular official Fatima Al-Jazairi and the head of the office public diplomacy by Lama Naji, in addition to the advisor and Consul Faker bin Halima. During the meeting, the delegation was briefed on the activities of the association related to workers and migrant workers in Kuwait and the services they receive. The association raised the issue of migrant workers and workers who wish to obtain continuous psychological assistance because of the pressures they suffer from. Whether pressures from work or employers, or financial pressures resulting from the situation of their families in their countries.

On March 31, a delegation from the association visited the headquarters of the European Union delegation in Kuwait, and a meeting was held with Dr. Christian Tudor, the ambassador of the European Union in the State of Kuwait. The meeting focused on cooperation between the Embassy of the European Union and the Kuwait Society for Human Rights in the field of the rights of migrant workers and workers in Kuwait. The association presented its total contributions aimed at defending the rights of female workers and migrant workers in Kuwait. On April 6, the Kuwait Society for Human Rights received a delegation from the Embassy of the Republic of Benin in Kuwait headed by His Excellency Ambassador Majidou Sumano. In various languages, the delegation expressed its desire to cooperate with the association to serve the issues of domestic workers for the citizens of the Republic of Benin.

On April 27, the Kuwait Society for Human Rights participated in an open regional consultative meeting to prepare for international meetings and discussions on migration, organized by the (Trans-Regional Center for Refugees and Migrants) with the aim of unifying the efforts of civil society in preparation for the upcoming international forums and reviews on migration, and a joint statement was discussed on the situation of migrants in region, is expected to be released at the International Migration Review Forum. 4 / Training programs: Simplifying the Concepts of Labor Law for workers in embassies of Labor-exporting countries On March 29-30, an activity was carried out under the name: “Concepts of Kuwaiti Labor Law” and it was like a forum for a number of embassies of labor-exporting countries, in addition to activists from different communities, participated in The training numbered 26 participants and participants representing 14 different entities (9 embassies, 5 communities and civil entities in Kuwait). During the program, the embassies of the countries exporting migrant workers inside Kuwait were urged to play a fundamental role in supporting their labor rights, and they were welcomed to work with them to reach the circle of effective and infl uential performance in a way that contributes to supporting workers’ rights. The course was implemented with the aim of educating and educating participants from the embassies of the countries exporting migrant workers inside Kuwait, and qualifying them with the concepts of labor laws in Kuwait and the rights it includes for workers. For the private sector No. 6 of 2010,

It lasted for two days, three hours a day, during which the following topics were discussed: The first axis: the guide of the Labour’s law of for the domestic sect NO6 of 2010. The second axis: the guiding guide to the Household Currency Law No. 68 of 2015 The third axis: labor complaints and the hotline mechanism The fourth axis: The Global Agreement on Migration and the participants are familiarized with the international agreements on the protection of the rights of migrant workers ratified by a state Kuwait, and their impact on local laws. They also learned about the Kuwaiti Labor Law for the Private Sector No. 6 of 2010, and Domestic Labor Law No. 68 of 2015, and all the rights entrusted to laws, decisions, and procedures regulating the labor market and the mechanism for obtaining these rights in the event of a conflict between the worker and the employer, and the participants were introduced to the methods and procedures to be followed when submitting a work complaint, and to inform them of general advice that the worker can follow Do not take advantage of them during the complaint process. The association listened to the difficulties and challenges facing embassies while defending the rights of their citizens, which are as follows: 1/ Language: as non-native speakers of Arabic and English face difficulty in conversing with workers in government departments, and a complaint is usually registered based on what the government employee understands and not based on worker issue. 2/ 2. Bad treatment: as some embassies employees complained about the bad treatment, they encountered from some government department employees during the process of following up on their citizens’ cases, they said that this often leads to the loss of the rights of female workers and migrant workers with cases. 3/ 3.

Duration of litigation: most of the participants complained about the length of the litigation period, as the worker remains following his case for a period of more than three years without obtaining his rights, during which he may become in violation of the residency law and may be deported or not obtain an alternative work and live in conditions Not good and unhealthy. The recommendations they made were the urgency of the rulings in labor cases, as well as the provision of translation in labor centers and departments for workers who do not speak Arabic and English, in addition to training government workers on good dealing with auditors.

These are recommendations that participants believe contribute to Global Compact for Migration. It protects the rights of migrant workers, works to overcome obstacles that hinder their work, and limits the loss of the rights of female workers and migrant workers in Kuwait who have complaints. Consultation sessions for domestic workers and a celebration of Women’s Day During the reporting period, the headquarters of the Kuwait Society for Human Rights hosted consultations for Ethiopian domestic workers and provided legal advice to them directly, in addition to hosting a training for domestic workers on the occasion of International Women’s Day, which fell on March 8. The Sandijan Initiative coordinates these events hosted by the association, which are weekly activities that rely on the rehabilitation and development of domestic workers, and providing legal advice and necessary assistance to migrant workers and workers in Kuwait, and it also develops the capabilities of workers in various fields.

Second: Administrative decisions and procedures: During the reporting period, we monitored the administrative changes related to the labor file in Kuwait, and perhaps during this period there were significant changes, especially in the file of domestic workers who, according to the law, received a month-long paid annual leave, after they were subject to estimates different, and was able to move to another employer… In any case, here is the outcome of the decisions: