KUWAIT: SOUL-SEARCHING ON LABOR ABUSES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000954

SIPDIS

G/TIP FOR PATEL, DRL FOR ANZALDUA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/04/2018
TAGS: PGOV SOCI ELAB KTIP KU
SUBJECT: KUWAIT: SOUL-SEARCHING ON LABOR ABUSES

REF: KUWAIT 864

Classified By: Ambassador Deborah K. Jones for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY. Stung by international media attention to
widespread labor abuses by Kuwaiti contractors, the GOK
continues to discuss and investigate TIP-related issues and
promises significant action. Domestic media continue to
provide wide coverage of the issues. Recent developments
include numerous investigations by government and
parliamentary committees into "visa trading" and labor law
violations, the resignation of the Assistant Undersecretary
for Labor Affairs at the Ministry of Social Affairs and
Labor, and continued work by the GOK's human rights committee
to fine-tune draft anti-TIP legislation. A special
parliamentary session to discuss expatriate labor will be
held on September 10. GOK officials claim they are trying
hard to work with representatives from labor-sending
countries' embassies to resolve issues but that some are
uncooperative and difficult to deal with. Bangladesh's
Foreign Minister visited September 3-4 and told journalists
"if the GOK does what it has promised to do, we will have no
complaints." The summer hiatus and observance of Ramadan
make it unlikely that concrete progress will be achieved
before Parliament reconvenes on October 26. END SUMMARY.

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CONTINUED WORK ON AND COVERAGE OF TIP AND LABOR ISSUES
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2. (C) Kuwaiti press reporting of TIP and labor issues has
reached a crescendo in recent weeks, reflecting a general
sense of embarrassment over egregious labor abuses and
security concerns triggered by brief episodes of violent
rioting of unpaid workers. One area of media focus has been
the investigations by several governmental and parliamentary
committees into alleged "visa trading" and labor law
violations. Reports of these committees will be submitted to
the Council of Ministers and the National Assembly when they
reconvene in late October. A promise by Minister of Social
Affairs and Labor, Bader Fahd Al-Duwaila, that "no one will
be above the law" in this matter has generated particular
interest since at least one other Cabinet member reportedly
owns a major cleaning company on the side that employs (and
exploits) expat laborers. On August 30, Dr. Saleh Al-Sheik,
Assistant Undersecretary for Labor Affairs at the Ministry of
Social Affairs and Labor, submitted his resignation to the
minister amidst widespreasd press speculation about his
involvement in "visa trading." (Note: The ministry
attributed his resignation to poor health. End note.)
Demonstrating how inflammatory this issue has become, 35 MPs
voted on September 3 to hold a special parliamentary session
on September 10 to discuss abuses of expatriate labor. Five
MPs have also proposed their own anti-TIP legislation.

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GOK TO PROPOSE AMENDMENTS TO DRAFT ANTI-TIP LEGISLATION AND
PLANS AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
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3. (C) The GOK is finalizing amendments to the current draft
anti-TIP legislation already passed by the Council of
Ministers (COM),according to Dr. Mohammed Al-Ansari,
Assistant Undersecretary for Legal Affairs and International
Relations at the Ministry of Justice. During a meeting
August 28, Al-Ansari told Emboffs that the GOK will propose
amendments to the draft legislation based on international
standards and a review of the United Arab Emirate's anti-TIP
legislation. Al-Ansari, a member of the GOK's Human Rights
Committee (HRC),advised that the amendments to the draft
legislation and ongoing labor issues in the wake of the labor
strikes that occurred in July (reftel) will be the main
topics on the agenda for the next HRC meeting. The proposed
amendments, together with findings from the HRC's
subcommittees investigating labor violations, will be
submitted to the COM for review in the next month. Al-Ansari
revealed that the GOK has plans to launch a coordinated
awareness campaign on TIP/labor issues after the next HRC
meeting (which likely will take place in October after
Ramadan). He added that Kuwait will participate in a human
rights conference to be sponsored by the Arab League
scheduled to be held in Doha in December.

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GOK COMPLAINS OF NON-COOPERATION FROM BANGLADESH
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4. (C) During a September 2 meeting with Colonel Saleh
Al-Asfour, Director of the Investigation and Follow-up Office
in the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Interior

KUWAIT 00000954 002 OF 002


(MOI),Al-Asfour stated that Kuwait seeks to improve its
image in the international community and resolve its TIP and
labor issues. According to Al-Asfour, his office has direct
daily contact with staff from the major labor-sending
countries' embassies. He noted that as recently as two
months ago, he and the Assistant Secretary of the MOI held
meetings with the ambassadors from each of these embassies
and discussed issues and ways in which to improve
cooperation. He asserted that his office has good
relationships with all the embassies, but complained that the
Bangladeshi embassy in particular was not cooperative and
could be difficult to deal with. As an example, he told
PolCouns that his office currently had 35 Bangladeshis in
custody, had repeatedly informed the Bangladeshi embassy of
this situation and requested their involvement, but received
no response. Col. Al-Asfour complained that the Bangladeshis
are generally uncooperative in providing support for their
citizens or in making available necessary travel documents to
his office so they could transfer the individuals to the
deportation center. He openly stated that the Bangladeshi
laborers in Kuwait were the most troublesome of expatriates,
responsible for all kinds of nefarious activities including
prostitution and illegal international call centers.


5. (C) Subsequent to this meeting, the Foreign Minister of
Bangladesh visited Kuwait on September 3-4 specifically to
address this issue. In a meeting the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs characterized as "extremely cordial", the two sides
reportedly agreed that each could do more to address these
problems. In a subsequent press interview, the FM remarked
that if all the recent conditions laid down by the Ministry
of Social Affairs and Labor are implemented then there should
be no room for grievances from the workers. He added that
the Government of Bangladesh would begin to screen laborers
to ensure that "only good people are sent abroad." The FM
also pointed out that the 40 KD per month minimum wage
(approximately USD 150) was not sufficient given the high
cost of living and the increase in food prices.

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COMMENT
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6. (C) The release of the Department's TIP report in June
and the subsequent labor strikes in July (reftel) have
generated unprecedented focus on TIP issues and momentum in
the GOK's handling of long-standing concerns. Due to the
summer hiatus and the observance of Ramadan, it is unlikely
that any significant progress will be made before October 26
when the National Assembly reconvenes. The increased
awareness and extraordinary volume of public discussion of
this issue is encouraging, however, and suggests that
momentum may be building which will force the GOK to deal
with labor abuses in a more coherent and systematic manner.

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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/
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JONES