‘Preserve rights of workers’

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 31: In parallel with the state’s tendency to besiege the residence merchants, “eaters” of illegitimate money, and those exploiting the needs of poor workers by referring them to the prosecution office, Public Authority for Manpower is also proceeding with procedures that guarantee the rights of these workers and preserve their dignified lives, reports Al-Qabas daily. In this context, Minister of Social Affairs and the State Minister for Economic Affairs Maryam Al- Aqeel directed officials at the Public Authority for Manpower in a meeting held last week on the need to make things easy for business owners and companies while removing obstacles against them- with regard to their return to work, and ensuring their rights throughout the suspension period.

The daily learnt that the latest directives from Minister Maryam Al-Aqeel to the Director General of Manpower Ahmed Al-Mousa, which was translated without delay, included facilities for small and medium enterprises business owners. A package of measures was announced recently to ensure the facilitation of work and normal return, guaranteeing the rights of workers without loss, in accordance with local and international laws, procedures and regulations.

It also allowed “labor transfer transactions registered on small and medium enterprises to work for another small or medium enterprise owner with a maximum of 3 workers registered on the file without the requirement to attach a wage transfer certificate until the end of the current year, while a suspension on the file isn’t required. These transactions will be carried out through a special record within the department with the approval of the Business Owner Service Department- an undertaking submitted from the project owner that includes his fulfillment of the rights of the workers registered with him”.

Al-Mousa also circulated the importance of adhering to the rules set for the transfer of workers from small or medium enterprise to another enterprise mentioned in the Administrative Resolution No.712 of 2017 concerning the regulations for transferring workers registered with the owners of small and medium enterprises. Labor protection Minister Al-Aqeel had other fingerprints, as she supervised in the last 161 days, the activities of the Crisis and Emergency Team of the Labor Protection Sector at Public Authority for Manpower, headed by Dr Mubarak Al-Azmi.

The team was able to preserve the rights of workers and follow up on complaints and arrears of financial dues, monthly salaries, and final cancellation. Also, the sector was able to receive 3,000 complaints regarding companies’ failure to pay salaries, as it dealt with more than 2,300 of them through settlement, while some of them were transferred to the judiciary.

The specialized teams delivered salaries for workers in 1,980 companies, besides implementing the procedures and desires of 800 workers who requested to leave the country after their sponsors refused to cancel their residency, noting the transactions of such workers were facilitated in coordination with the Ministry of Interior. In order to secure labor rights, abide by laws and agreements, confront human trafficking, and make it easier for public companies in the country to push forward the economic movement, the authority granted the major companies the right to practice without interruption, while granting them the right to renew, transfer and cancel work permits and to open their files without the requirement of presenting a salary certificate.

The first pledge, to which the companies were obligated stated that no labor complaints or deficiencies were reported, in addition to the pledge to provide legal survey for the deficiencies when requested by the authority. In the event that the declaration was violated or proved incorrect, Public Authority for Manpower is entitled to take the necessary legal measures against the establishment.

As for the second undertaking, companies must submit a wage statement for the month of March and the following months whenever the Authority makes a request, and in the event that the declaration is violated and data is not proven correct, the necessary legal measures will be taken. These declarations and pledges are considered a step to guarantee the rights of workers, while companies are exempted from presenting the salary certificate to continue their files and work without interruption, as part of measures to restore the economic conditions to normal, as recommended by Minister Maryam Al-Aqeel.