KUWAIT CITY, Aug 19: Cases of housemaids fleeing from their employers have drawn attention as they affect the daily lives of citizens due to the prevalence of fraudulent labor recruitment offices and brokers that lure domestic workers with offers of high-paying jobs in restaurants, cafés, and gyms. Lawyers have stressed the need for citizens to take the necessary steps as soon as their housemaids run away.

These measures include prompt filing of an absence report and consulting the Labor Recruitment Department at the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM). They clarified that if the housemaid has worked for less than six months, the labor recruitment office is obligated to reimburse the recruitment fees and the cost of return tickets. Citizens have the right to file a civil suit for damages, with claims up to KD500, they confirmed.

Meanwhile, security sources have warned against harboring or employing runaway housemaids; as many of them have violated the Residency and Labor laws. Anyone who shelters or covers up for such workers could face legal consequences. Citizens and residents are urged to cooperate with security agencies to help address these issues, sources added.

In a related development, PAM has laid down a mechanism for dealing with domestic workers who leave their employers without notice. The process starts with filing an absence report at one of the citizens service centers affiliated with the Ministry of Interior, and then lodging a complaint in the Department of Regulating the Recruitment of Domestic Workers at PAM. If the worker has not been employed for six months, the recruitment office must compensate the employer for the recruitment fees and the return ticket. If the sponsorship period has ended, the complaint will be referred to the judiciary to determine compensation and responsibility for the return ticket. Security sources have emphasized the importance of quickly reporting fake labor recruitment offices and cooperating with security authorities.

They also cautioned against dealing with unlicensed agencies that advertise domestic workers who are paid per hour of work on various media platforms including social networking sites, as these are often scams. They stressed that employers should only deal with licensed offices approved by the Ministry of Interior to avoid falling prey to fraudulent transactions. They added a joint team, whose members are from the Residency Affairs Investigation General Department and the Residency Affairs General Department, is closely monitoring fake and illegal advertisements to take the necessary legal action against anyone behind such fraudulent acts.