KUWAIT: The Sri Lankan Embassy in Kuwait pressed for the immediate passage of Domestic Labor Law Bill, which lay pending at the Parliament. C A H M Wijeratne, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Kuwait said that passing the bill will serve as the key to resolving domestic labor issues that plague the country. "I think the immediate passage of the Bill is the only answer to many troubles arising from the domestic labor sector. Without proper regulations, we cannot easily solve the problem of domestic workers here," the envoy told Kuwait Times.
The Sri Lankan envoy was reacting to a news report that some Sri Lankan workers based in Kuwait were being trafficked to other countries in the region and work there illegally. "It happened. We documented at least one case of Sri Lankan male worker who was taken to Saudi Arabia from Kuwait to work there at a farm . He was hired as a family driver in Kuwait. However, his sponsor took him to Saudi Arabia to work at a farm located 300 kilometers away from Riyadh.
My concern is that there may be more unreported cases. The problem is that he was taken to the most remote place in the Kingdom. Nobody knows where he is. When his family contacted the embassy here, we found out that he was taken to Saudi Arabia by his employer, maybe through a visit visa. The Kuwaiti sponsor does not want to cooperate. Such cases can be prevented if there are effective laws that protect domestic workers," he added.
"I don't want to talk any further about the issue [of the male worker trafficked to Saudi Arabia] because it was resolved and he is now under the custody of our embassy in Riyadh. What I want to highlight is the need for passing a domestic labor law to protect workers. I also do not want to intervene in Kuwait's domestic labor affairs here. What I am saying is that as a human being, we are all answerable to one another . As they have a draft bill for the domestic helper, why not pass and implement it," he reiterated.
Domestic labor law in Kuwait has been pending for years now at the Parliament without receiving news about when the Parliament is going to sit and talk about the draft law. The draft law concerns domestic workers like family cooks, housemaids, nannies, drivers, farmers, guards, shepherds and stablemen who account for roughly eight percent of Kuwait's 3.1 million population.
At present, any problems pertinent with domestic labor issues are referred to the Ministry of Interior. The proposed domestic labor law recommends the creation of a separate department to deal with the domestic labor affairs or to be later called as the Domestic Labor Department. The short-term solution introduced by the Ministry of Interior was to create a shelter for domestic workers.
Its construction is now underway, and is nearing completion. "What they want to close the runaway shelter at our embassy. In my own perspective, I think, it will not be suitable to all [nationalities]. There are runaway cases because of harassment abuse. There are cases of abuse because there is no legal framework to protect domestic workers," he said. "If the law is passed, it will not immediately eradicate abuses, but it can help and would be a great start to help our domestic workers in Kuwait," he added.
The ambassador expressed gratitude for the great help extended by the Kuwaiti government. "As ambassador of Sri Lanka to Kuwait, I am extending my utmost gratitude to Kuwait for helping us repatriate our runaway housemaids. The Kuwaiti government provided us with 240 air tickets to repatriate our workers recently. This was apart from the 500 air tickets given to us months ago. We are grateful for that. As a matter of fact, I do not need to complain anymore. I am affected by the real stories of people who are running away because they were abused and not paid.
The family of these people are automatically affected, and it is not only about them, but their entire family which can eventually affect our society. These people are looking at us. They think we can do something. Indeed, we need to do something for them, that is why I am here," he said. There are about 120,000 Sri Lankans in Kuwait, a vast majority of them work as domestic labor workers. The embassy admitted to receiving an average of 10 runaway maids per day.
© Kuwait Times 2012
