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. ================= 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). ================= 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." ================= 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. ********************************************* ********* For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: visit Kuwait's Classified Website at: http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Kuwa it ********************************************* ********* JONES