KUWAIT CITY, Jan 11: First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah has asked Foreign Affairs Minister Sheikh Salem Al-Abdullah to support and facilitate the procedures of Al-Durra Company for Domestic Workers in labor-exporting countries, reports Al-Seyassah daily. The Security Media Department in the Interior Ministry disclosed that Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled instructed Al-Durra to quickly launch the service for recruiting domestic workers through its website to ease procedures for hiring workers directly without the need for an intermediary office.

On the other hand, the Tripartite Committee of the Ministries of Interior and Commerce and the Public Authority for Manpower on Thursday announced the suspension of 24 domestic labor recruitment offices for violating the Domestic Workers Law and the decisions of the Ministry of Commerce. In a press statement, the committee disclosed that the suspension happened on the third day of implementing the ministerial decision on the fees for recruiting domestic workers and the joint statement regarding the commitment to use K-Net devices in the collection of fees. It added that the recent inspection of domestic labor recruitment offices in Farwaniya and Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh resulted in the registration of 15 contract related violations and the suspension of nine domestic labor recruitment offices that have no K-Net devices in violation of the Ministry of Commerce circulars.

The committee then advised the owners of labor recruitment offices to adhere to the law and the relevant ministerial decisions and circulars, so as not to expose themselves to legal accountability. It confirmed that the inspection tours continue daily to uncover violations, indicating 78 violations were uncovered during the inspection campaigns carried out in the last three days. Earlier, the Public Authority for Manpower and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry jointly called on citizens to make payments to domestic worker recruitment offices through KNET. In a collective statement, the two entities urged citizens to file complaints against offices that do not adhere to the specified payment method via KNET or fail to comply with the announced prices. The committee urges labor recruitment office owners to adhere to laws, ministerial decisions, and circulars, emphasizing ongoing daily inspections to identify and address violations.

Emphasizing the strictest legal measures against offices violating ministerial decisions and the Domestic Workers Law, the statement aims to safeguard the rights of citizens. Citizens are encouraged to promptly contact the workforce hotline at (96966595) and the Ministry of Commerce at (135) to submit complaints in case offices do not adhere to the prices outlined in Ministerial Resolution No. (2) of 2024, issued on January 7, 2024. The resolution, announced by the Minister of Commerce and Industry and the Minister of the State Department for Youth Affairs, Muhammad Al-Aiban, establishes the cost of recruiting domestic workers, inclusive of the travel ticket, based on collaborative efforts with the Public Authority for Manpower and in response to recommendations from Sheikh Talal Khaled Al-Ahmad Al- Jaber Al-Sabah, the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.