NEW SOCIAL AFFAIRS AND LABOR MINISTER RECEPTIVE TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 000632 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR NEA/ARPI AND G/TIP E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/22/2016 TAGS: PHUM PGOV KU TIP SUBJECT: NEW SOCIAL AFFAIRS AND LABOR MINISTER RECEPTIVE TO U.S. CONCERNS ABOUT EXPAT LABOR ISSUES REF: A. KUWAIT 475 ¶B. KUWAIT 305 Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C) The Ambassador met February 22 with new Minister for Social Affairs and Labor Shaykh Ali Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah to congratulate him on his post and used the occasion to raise U.S. concerns about the insufficient protection of expatriate worker rights. The Ambassador stated that protection of the rights of domestic workers and other categories of employees vulnerable to exploitation was a U.S. foreign policy priority. ¶2. (C) The Minister responded that he was concerned about the problem and has already begun a dialogue with some MPs on the issue. He continued that the major trafficking culprits were local firms and the expatriates working with them, with the latter recruiting people from their countries who are then brought to Kuwait. Shaykh Ali noted that a minimum wage and changes to the labor law were necessary. The Ambassador mentioned that a GOK-run shelter would go a long way to solving the problem, adding that the Kuwaiti Union of Domestic Labor Offices (KUDLO) was working to address the condition of domestic laborers. Shaykh Ali said he thought KUDLO's proposals were just designed to help it dodge the Ministry's supervision, given its members' interest in carrying out their business of recruiting and placing domestics without government constraints. He said he welcomed U.S. suggestions for how to combat the problem and noted that Kuwait had agreed with UNDP and other UN agencies to host an international conference on expatriate worker issues in the Gulf (ref A). Bio Note -------------- ¶3. (U) Shaykh Ali was born in 1950. He served at the Kuwaiti Embassy in Iran from 1973 - 1975. Since that time, he has worked in banking in Kuwait and other Gulf states. He is a member of the Kuwaiti ruling family. ********************************************* * For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ ********************************************* * LEBARON