KUWAIT CITY, Nov 1: Domestic workers crisis is worsening day by day due to closure of airports and visas due to coronavirus pandemic. The activities of maids recruiting offices have ceased to operate. Informed sources revealed that some fake offices exploit current conditions.

Currently these fake offices are running  slave trade business in Kuwait. 30,000 residence were transferred during the crisis. Around 60,000 maids have been exploited by fake offices who violated the law.

Any citizen can hire a domestic maid on monthly wages, the maid receives salary between 100 kd to 120 dinars . The office charges between 150 to 200 dinars as per the agreement between both the parties. In some cases 320 dinars per month for a maid has been charged by these fake offices who are taking full advantage of the situation due to suspension of issuing visas.

Some owners of domestic workers' offices revealed that some contracting companies bypass the law, taking advantage by obtaining a building-cleaning license and providing domestic workers whose salary reaches 450 dinars per month. 

The advertisements of some domestic workers' offices began to spread announcing provision of daily and monthly domestic workers, the head of the Union of Owners of Domestic Labor Recruitment Agencies, Khaled Al-Dakhnan, warned, that all the offices that currently announce the provision of temporary domestic workers (daily and monthly) are fake offices and are operating illegally, this activity is not authorized and not permitted reports Al Rai.  Al-Dakhnan said that one should not deal with these fake offices as they violate the law and supply workers who are absconding and have criminal records, they also supply sick or those who carry communicable diseases. Whoever shelters absconding workers puts himself to legal accountability and is a partner in crime.

Bassam Al-Shammari, the owner of one of the domestic workers' offices, revealed that “some contracting companies that have a building cleaning license are manipulating and circumventing the law and providing their workers as domestic workers and charging amounts of up to 450 dinars per month for each worker in exchange for working only eight hours a day, ”noting that“ this illegal activity generates hundreds of thousands of dinars per month. ”

"These domestic workers do not possess a health card and they carry various diseases which are a risk for elderly and children, unlike the licensed domestic workers’ offices whose work is currently frozen due to the suspension of issuing visas of domestic workers."

"Many female secretarial workers in contracting companies expressed their desire to work as domestic workers because the salary is higher due to the current crisis. Due to online studies need for a guardian at home to sit next to the children during study hours, while Kuwaiti citizens (male and female) are finding it difficult to be at home  due to their jobs in government offices."

"Currently the price of temporary maid is 50 dinars for two hours work who generally stands idly and are unable to do any work"

In a related context, informed security sources revealed that the total number of domestic workers in the country is about 670,000 ( females and males) due to the Corona pandemic, many workers traveled outside the country and some of them were unable to return to the country because their residency were expired or not renewed or they did not want to return to Kuwait. Due to this, the crisis increased.

Total number of domestic workers who have violated the law are nearly 60,000 the majority are females. Since visas have been stopped these fake offices resorted to employing these absconding maids with lucrative salary of 250 dinars per month or more. Earlier the salary did not exceed 180 dinars.

During the pandemic crisis nearly 30,000 housemaids were transferred for an  exorbitant amount of 3000 dinars either through assignment and payment of fees or selling in exchange for huge sums.
Many Kuwaiti families raised salaries of their maids after flights were started due to lack of maids offices in the market as visas were being suspended and also due to fear of escaping or working for another family.

Filipino maids - 15 dinars for 5 working hours per day

One of the companies that provide domestic workers on an hourly basis was contacted to inquire about the mechanism of work, reports Al Rai, as this company published an advertisement in which it offered domestic workers to clean homes on an hourly basis. The official of that company stated that the working period is  for five hours per day which includes all areas in Kuwait with the exception of remote areas such as Al-Wafra and Al-Abdali. All their maids were female workers of Filipino nationality, who can be chosen from, and changed upon request.

The prices depend on the governorate, while in the governorates of the capital and Hawally the cost reaches 10 dinars for every five hours per day (not in Jaber al-Ahmad area). The governorates of Ahmadi and Jahra (also in Jaber Al-Ahmad area) amount to 15 dinars for a period of 5 hours.

He pointed out that "these prices do not include the prices of cleaning equipment, with cleaning equipment additional price is 5 dinars, cleaning services do not include cooking, child care or the elderly care, and do not include washing or ironing clothes."