03/08/2016
7228 times read
03/08/2016
7228 times read
KUWAIT CITY, Aug 2, (Agencies): The State of Kuwait is keen on safeguarding foreign communities namely the Indian expatriates, who constitute the largest non-Kuwaiti community in the country, affirmed the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor. Dr Hind Al-Sabeeh, also the Minister of State for Planning Affairs and Development, said in a statement on Tuesday that presence of the large number of Indians in the country indicates that their businesses are stable and their rights are safeguarded.
The State of Kuwait, she added, has signed a protocol with the Indian labor ministry, stipulating that it approves the employment contract ahead of the worker’s entry into Kuwait. She put the number of Indian workers in Kuwait’s private sector at 549,196, adding that the number of them who had lodged complaints requesting rights’ attainment, between July 31, 2015 and July 31, 2016, amounted to 4,223 only.
The ministry’s public relations units, based in all of the country’s governorates, are ready all the time for receiving laborers’ protests. Moreover, the local authorities have compelled employers to allocate financial guarantees for the employee, to be used for compensating the employee in case he has not been paid. In line with the State policy of protecting the expatriates, namely the workers, a shelter for workers had been set up, for those in need for help.
A number of female Indian workers had taken up refugee in the shelter and departed the country after being paid all pending sums.
Thousands of jobless Indians, Filipinos and Pakistanis are stranded and destitute in Saudi Arabia after the plunge in oil prices sparked construction layoffs, activists and officials said Tuesday.
Some Filipinos are forced to beg or sift through garbage to survive after going unpaid for months, said Garry Martinez, chairman of the Migrante group which works for the millions of Filipino overseas workers worldwide. “Some of them have nothing to eat and have to go through the garbage for food,” said Martinez.
India said Monday it was negotiating with Saudi authorities to repatriate thousands of its own nationals after they lost their jobs, leaving them with no money to return home. Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj told parliament in New Delhi she was sending a junior minister to Riyadh after reports that around 10,000 Indian workers had been left to starve. Indians are among millions of poor Asians working in the Gulf states, where human rights groups say many suffer exploitation and abuses including nonpayment of wages.
In Manila, Migrante coordinator Gilbert Saludo — who returned from Saudi Arabia last month after two years working there — said as many as 20,000 Filipinos could be affected. Saludo said that while Manila had extended fi nancial aid to them so far, it was not clear how long this could last. The labour problem appeared likely to worsen, he added. “It will get much worse because so much of the income of Saudi Arabia comes from oil ... so their budget for infrastructure and other projects will not be met and more people will be affected,” Saludo told AFP.
Problem
“We stand by our hardworking workers who are away from their homeland to earn a living for their families. They are our strength and pride. We will help them out in all possible ways,” Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said in a statement. The Indian consulate in Jeddah has been providing free food for its nationals since their plight came to light last week but repatriation has been complicated by restrictive labour regulations. Swaraj cited a Saudi requirement that workers provide a no-objection certificate from their employers before they can leave the country.
In Manila the Migrante offi cials also said Filipinos could not leave because they lacked proper permits or were still awaiting months of back pay.