KUWAIT CITY : Kuwait has resumed stamping visas of Indian domestic workers after India agreed to adopt a work contract based on Kuwaiti model, thus ending a nearly six months of standoff, says Abu Khaled, the Director of Al-Behbehani Manpower Recruitment Company. It may be recalled that both countries were locked in a dispute over the labour contract and that the Kuwaiti embassy in India had stopped stamping visas relating to both private and domestic sector, even as hundreds of Indian job seekers were stranded owing to the impasse. The dispute involving the private sector was resolved some two months ago. Of the 650,000 Indians in Kuwait, some 280,000 are employed in the domestic sector.
Hailing the agreement between both sides, Abu Khaled observed that Indian maids are continued to be paid a monthly salary of KD 45 and not KD 60 minimum wage set by the Indian government. "The minimum wage that was announced by the Indian government is not applicable in Kuwait because the country has laws in place that safeguards domestic workers. The Indian workers have insurance cover in Kuwait, which is not the case with other countries. We have received a lot of applications from employers with regard to recruitment of Indian maids as many Kuwaitis prefer Indian workers because they are dedicated and committed to their job," he added.
A source had earlier told the Arab Times that the visa standoff arose after the Indian authorities urged the Kuwaiti side to implement some fresh terms added in its employment contract. The source had also said that the Kuwaiti side argued that Indian contract has no legitimacy in its court of law and hence the latter should adopt contract based on the Kuwaiti model. The Indian labour contract had earlier stipulated eight hours work, and any additional hours to be considered as overtime, besides making it obligatory for the sponsor to offer a domestic worker a cell phone upon his or her arrival in the country, he added.
By Francis A. Clifford Cardozo
© Arab Times 2008
