Though the country promotes “Kuwaitisation” as a way to reduce the country’s reliance on a foreign workforce, Kuwait’s Central Statistical Bureau suggests that non-Kuwaitis still make up approximately seventy per cent of the 4.1 million population. In this context, there are an estimated 660,000 migrant domestic workers working in the country. In addition to domestic work, other common forms of foreign employment in Kuwait include work in the construction and services industries. Kuwait’s foreign workers primarily originate from countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia, primarily India, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. It is estimated that, due to increases in recent years, women make up almost one-third of the country’s migrant population, and Indian citizens make up the largest proportion (almost twenty per cent) of foreign workers. As is also common in other Gulf states, Kuwait’s kafala sponsorship system associates migrant workers (and their visas) to their employers. The system stipulates that, without their Kuwaiti employer’s consent, a foreign worker is unable to change employers or leave the country.
Under the kafala system, fleeing one’s employer can result in arrest and imprisonment (up to six months), high fines, deportation, and being banned from re-entering the Kuwait for a period of six years. Migrant workers, moreover, are often not able to finance the legal fees required to seek reparations. The unequal employer-employee relationship supported by the kafala creates space for potential exploitation of the migrant worker. This particularly manifests in excessively long working hours without rest periods or days off. Other reported abuses faced by workers in Kuwait include passport confiscation, involuntary confinement, as well as verbal, physical, and sexual assault. In 2015 and 2016, numerous strikes by construction workers took place to protest unpaid wages or late payment of wages. It is reported that the Kuwaiti government received more than 8,000 labour complaints about delayed wages and passport confiscation in 2014. Due to the strain these challenges put on migrant workers in Kuwait, reports of suicides and death are not uncommon; in 2013, 56% of all suicides in Kuwait were committed by domestic workers (primarily from South Asia and Africa).
Given such abuses faced by migrant workers, a number of origin countries – notably the Philippines – have previously implemented bans on labour migration to Kuwait. These bans can, however, create a deteriorating situation for foreign workers who subsequently try to enter the country in an unregulated manner and may become subjected to trafficking. To combat some of the challenges faced by labour migrants, Kuwait has made recent efforts in improving migration governance (with regards to managing labour mobility, reducing instances of trafficking, and protecting migrant rights), with the support of the International Organisation for Migration. In 2011, the government announced a planned reduction in the use of the kefala system, and a Wage Payment System (WPS) was introduced at the end of 2015. This electronic salary transfer system aims to reduce unpaid wages and allows migrant workers to more easily prove if they have not yet received wages from their employer. Though the Kuwaiti regulations for migrant workers are still not as strict as those for Kuwaiti labourers, the country has also promoted increased labour protections for migrant workers in recent years; this has included the implementation of regulations for a minimum wage, overtime compensation, a twelve-hour work day including rest time, as well as paid leave.
Find out more about the degree of respect for worker’s rights in this country based on ITUC Global Rights Index here.