MAIDS R US: PLAN FOR GOK-RUN DOMESTIC WORKER

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 001161

SIPDIS

NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/13/2019
TAGS: PGOV KTIP ELAB PREL KU
SUBJECT: MAIDS R US: PLAN FOR GOK-RUN DOMESTIC WORKER
RECRUITMENT AGENCY

REF: KUWAIT 1147

Classified By: PolCouns Pete O'Donohue for reasons 1.4 b and d


1. (C) Summary. On December 9, the General Director of
Kuwait's Ministry of Interior's Immigration Department, Kamel
Al-Awadhi, laid out his plans for a government-run domestic
worker recruitment agency, telling a crowd of labor attaches,
NGOs, and GOK officials gathered at an International
Organization for Migration (IOM) workshop that he hoped the
operation of such an agency would remove Kuwait from the TIP
report Tier 3 "blacklist." Representatives from the Kuwait
Trade Union Federation (KTUF) and NGOs expressed reservations
about the notion of allowing a single government center to
have a monopoly on the domestic worker supply, arguing that
it could become easily corrupted and could result in runaway
maids being trafficked to new owners. End Summary.

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The IOM Workshop
=================

2. (U) The Kuwaiti office of the IOM, with funding from the
Netherlands Embassy, hosted a December 6-10 workshop focused
on instructing GOK officials on the rights of foreign
workers. Labor attaches, human rights NGOs, and a number of
high-level GOK officials -- groups which rarely intermingle
-- were in attendance. The workshop received significant
coverage in the local Arab and English press despite being
overshadowed by a landmark confrontation between the
parliament and Prime Minister (reftel).

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GOK Plans Orientation Center for Foreign Workers
=================

3. (U) On December 9, with Ambassador in attendance,
Brigadier Kamel Mahmoud Al-Awadhi, General Director of the
Immigration Department in the Ministry of Interior, laid out
his plans for a GOK-run domestic worker recruitment agency.
Since taking office in April 2008, Awadhi has been planning
the creation of a GOK-run domestic worker recruitment agency
to regulate entry into Kuwait of maids, cooks, and drivers
from India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Egypt, and
Bangladesh. During his presentation, Awadhi noted that in
November 2008 he had sent a request to the embassies of the
aforementioned labor-sending countries for letters of
endorsement for Kuwait's plan to develop a central recruiting
agency. Only Bangladesh provided him with the requested
letter. Awadhi ended his presentation by telling the crowd
that he hoped the operation of such an agency would remove
Kuwait from the U.S. TIP report's Tier 3 "blacklist."

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KTUF & Indian Ambassador's reservations
=================

4. (C) After the presentation, KTUF Deputy Chairman
Abdulrahman Al-Ghanim expressed reservations to PolOff about
the notion of allowing a single government center to have a
monopoly on the domestic worker supply, arguing that it could
become easily corrupted and could result in runaway maids
being trafficked to new owners. Kuwait Fundamental Human
Rights Society Chairman Dr. Adel Al-Damkhi echoed this
concern to PolOff. Awadhi told PolOff that he suspects some
labor attaches oppose the center because they are trafficking
their own run-away maids and do not want such a center to end
their ability to do so.


5. (C) The Indian Ambassador was notably absent from the
meeting. (Note: 600,000 of Kuwait's two million foreign
workers are from India, making Indians the largest contingent
of foreign workers. End note.) He later told Ambassador that
he hadn't "bothered" coming because he didn't want the GOK
meddling in his handling of runaway maids, which he
considered "interfering in (his) business." (Note: The
Indian Embassy currently maintains an informal shelter for
runaway maids, providing them a small stipend, pajamas,
toiletries, and a change of clothes until they can be
repatriated. End note.) In addition to the US Ambassador,
the IOM presentation was attended by the Ambassadors of
Bangladesh, Ethiopia, the Netherlands, Pakistan, and the UK.

=================
Comment
=================

6. (C) Abuse of domestics remains a concern, including
contract abuse (such as excessive hours and
underpayment/nonpayment of salaries) which is widespread,
according to anecdotal reports. GOK participation in the IOM
workshop and Awadhi's apparent support for reform show that
the GOK's response to its domestic labor challenges is slowly

evolving, but rapid resolution of outstanding issues is
unlikely. Awadhi's reference at the end of his speech to
Kuwait's Tier 3 ranking indicates that the Embassy's repeated
calls for TIP reforms and the GOK's low-ranking on the TIP
report resonate in the Kuwaiti halls of government. Though
Awadhi's plan for a central domestic worker recruitment
agency is not without problems, it could well be an
improvement over the present under-regulated abundance of
private-sector recruiting agencies which are believed to be
rampant with corruption.


7. (C) The two main beneficiaries of the present domestic
visa trafficking system are labor recruiters in origin
countries (who extract high fees and misrepresent job
conditions and pay) and Kuwaiti labor agencies specialized in
securing domestic visa approvals and residencies, who also
charge high fees to employers. Both sides of this
exploitative system are politically connected and likely to
suffer should a government-run agency take over this role --
perhaps explaining both the general lack of enthusiasm for
it, and our assessment that such an agency is unlikely to be
established anytime soon. End Comment.

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For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit:
visit Kuwait's Classified Website at:

http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Kuwa it
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JONES