Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08KUWAIT1021
2008-09-29 14:12:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Kuwait
Cable title:  

LABOR ISSUES REMAIN AT THE FORE IN KUWAITI

Tags:  PGOV SOCI ELAB KTIP KU 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO3953
PP RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHKU #1021/01 2731412
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 291412Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2175
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 0416
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 001021 

SIPDIS

NEA/ARP
G/TIP FOR PATEL, DRL FOR ANZALDUA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2018
TAGS: PGOV SOCI ELAB KTIP KU
SUBJECT: LABOR ISSUES REMAIN AT THE FORE IN KUWAITI
DISCUSSIONS

REF: A. KUWAIT 954

B. KUWAIT 864

Classified By: Political Counselor Peter O'Donohue for reasons 1.4 b an
d d

Summary
---------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 001021

SIPDIS

NEA/ARP
G/TIP FOR PATEL, DRL FOR ANZALDUA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2018
TAGS: PGOV SOCI ELAB KTIP KU
SUBJECT: LABOR ISSUES REMAIN AT THE FORE IN KUWAITI
DISCUSSIONS

REF: A. KUWAIT 954

B. KUWAIT 864

Classified By: Political Counselor Peter O'Donohue for reasons 1.4 b an
d d

Summary
--------------


1. (C) Since an outbreak of violent labor strikes in late
July, Kuwaiti officialdom and the media have continued to
scrutinize TIP and labor issues. The GOK appears to be
leveraging a 'law and order' approach to violent strikers,
including the planned deportation of thousands of
undocumented workers, against much needed reforms in law and
practice, so as to redeem the country's image. Sporadic
strikes continue, though none has been as violent as those
that took place in July. There have been no further mass
deportations of laborers, but some 5000 illegals currently
await probable deportation. While these matters continue to
garner media and governmental attention, the GOK's response
to the issue has been to:

-- threaten to identify publicly Kuwaiti companies and
nationals engaged in "visa trading" and other labor
violations;
-- hold a special one-day parliamentary session to address
the labor issue and to spell out recommendations for action;
-- deport individuals illegally residing in the country.

While the present Ramadan season has prevented the GOK and
parliament from tackling the labor issue head on, we
anticipate it will be at the forefront of the agenda when the
National Assembly reconvenes in late October. End Summary.

MPs Use Issue as a Stick to Beat the GOK
--------------


2. (C) In response to public outcry and demand by many MPs,
a special session of the National Assembly was held September
10 to lambaste the GOK over the recent labor riots and
ongoing TIP concerns. Though taking care to address the
labor issue from both a security and a human rights angle,
the MPs clearly relished using the session to embarrass the
government by accusing it of inaction and demanding that it
expose official Kuwaitis involved in visa trading and other
labor abuses. The MPs particularly targetted the Ministry of
Social Affairs and Labor (MOSAL),alleging that some of its

officials were complicit with visa traders. Salafi Islamic
Grouping,s MP Khalid Sultan told MOSAL Minister Bader
Al-Duwaila "If you fight corruption in your ministry, we,ll
support you." But he and other MPs made clear that they
would be eager to press the attack on MOSAL if it failed to
clean house. (Note: There have also been allegations making
the rounds that the Minister of Communications, who
reportedly owns a cleaning company that employes Bangladeshis
and is close to the Prime Minister, was involved in labor
abuse. End Note.)

Us Versus Them
--------------


3. (C) Not all MPs demonstrated a paramount concern for the
rights of laborers. Playing to Kuwaiti xenophobes, some MPs
grandstanded to their constituencies, painting the laborers
-- notably the Bangladeshis -- as overly numerous and too
prone to engage in criminality. Among other attributes, some
MPs accused Bangladeshis and other foreigners of running
brothels, smuggling drugs, engaging in theft and being
"carriers of disease." (Note: A commonly held stereotype and
one earlier conveyed to Ambassador by the Kuwait State
Security Director during a July meeting following the release
of the TIP Report. End Note). Also, in an attempt to
instill fear in the populace, Islamic Constitutional
Movement's Jam'an Al-Hirbish alleged that many of the 40,000
Iranian workers are spies for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard
Corps (IRGC).

GOK Refuses to Name Violators
--------------


4. (C) In an intervention on behalf of the GOK, MOSAL
Minister Al-Duwaila acknowledged two problems that define
labor issues in Kuwait: low, late, or unpaid salaries; and
poor, unsafe working and/or living conditions. To the
disappointment of the MPs, Al-Duwaila declined to identify
publicly those under scrutiny for trafficking or labor

KUWAIT 00001021 002 OF 003


violations, suggesting that doing so would jeopardize ongoing
investigations. (Note: It is significant that MPs were
seized with the issue of labor abuse even during the normally
soporific holy month of Ramadan. Their fervor suggests that
they feel they have found a government weak spot. The true
test of their commitment to making real progress on the issue
will come after Eid and when Parliament reconvenes in
October.)

Session Produces Ideas, But Not Much Action
--------------


5. (C) The September 10 session concluded with 38
recommendations from the National Assembly to the GOK. The
principal recommendations included a proposal to build "labor
cities" that comply with international safety and security
standards, limiting the numbers of particular nationalities
allowed to work in Kuwait, and increasing the scrutiny of
companies that win government contracts. Since the session,
there has been little movement on these recommendations,
which were met with skepticism by the press and public.
Meanwhile, sporadic and limited strikes, arrests and
deportations of laborers declared as illegal residents have
continued.

Ministry of Interior Cracks Down on Visa Traders
-------------- --------------


6. (C) One area where the GOK has stepped up its activity is
in blacklisting abusive labor importers. In recent months,
200 Kuwaiti individuals and 40 companies (names not yet made
public) reportedly have been blacklisted from sponsoring
laborers and domestic workers. Under Kuwaiti law, those
laborers who entered Kuwait under the sponsorship of
blacklisted employers are now potentially exposed to being
identified as illegal residents. The pool of laborers who
are, for one reason or another, considered illegal is
significant. Arabic Daily Al-Watan reported September 21
that a Ministry of Interior crackdown recently netted over
5,000 illegal residents, who are now awaiting deportation.

Roles of GOK Ministries
--------------


7. (U) MOSAL and the Ministry of the Interior are the
primary actors in combating TIP and labor abuses. In MOSAL's
capacity of dealing with general, or non-domestic labor, it
issues work permits, inspects work sites, assesses labor
requirements, passes labor importation and foreign labor
employment regulations, enforces labor laws, and adjudicates
complaints and strikes, inter alia. Of the total population
of approximately 3.1 million, recent GOK estimates put the
current number of foreign workers in Kuwait at 1,208,156. Of
this number, only 103,672 are employed by the government; the
balance work in the private sector. Foreign workers in
Kuwait are governed under the Private Sector Labor law. This
segment of the population does not include the 544,329
domestic workers, i.e. household maids, gardeners, nannies,
and drivers, who are covered by the Ministry of Interior's
Immigration and Domestic Labor Department. There is no
statute that governs or regulates domestic employment. The
relationship between the employee and employer is governed by
a contract between the two parties. Recent editorials in the
Kuwaiti press suggest that at least some segments of Kuwaiti
society are aware of and sympathetic to the plight of abused
domestic workers.

Comment
--------------


8. (C) While Kuwaitis continue to decry labor abuses, action
has been limited at best to protect laborers from their
exposure to poor treatment, little to no payment, and harsh
living/working conditions. It is significant, though, that
the issue remains a topic for debate both in the press and
among parliamentarians. A number of commentators have called
for genuine reform of the labor sponsorship system in order
to undo the damage to Kuwait's image resulting from the
well-documented abuses. That this awareness and public
discussion has remained at high volume during the normally
slow Ramadan season is encouraging and suggests the
possibility that the GOK will tackle labor issues more
decisively when the National Assembly reconvenes at the end
of October. End comment.

********************************************* *
For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit:

KUWAIT 00001021 003 OF 003


http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s

Visit Kuwait's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/
********************************************* *
JONES