Latest News
- Court Sentences Bank Employee To 5 Years For Embezzling 100,000...
- Fake ‘Sheikh’ Sentenced To 2-yr As Court Overturns Verdict
- Justice Ministry New Service On The Sahel App
- Ministry Probes 68 Cases Of Illegal Charity, Funds Collection
- Globally, Kuwait Is Among The Top Consumers Of Incense And Oud O...
- Decrease Seen In Foreign Investment
- Kuwait Customs Seized 2 Containers Laden With Tobacco At Shuwaik...
- Unpaid Salaries, Accountant Beaten Up By Workers
- The Sahel App Was Not Hacked, A Spokesman Claims
- Four Expats Arrested For Stealing Copper Cables Worth 60,000 Din...
- Indian National Died In Abdalli Car Accident
- Work Permits And Foreign Worker Transfers Are Amended By PAM
Kuwait Urged To End Kafala System
A UN rights expert on Thursday urged Kuwait to abolish its “kafala” system for foreign workers which has long been criticised as a form of bonded labour or even slavery.
Under the system, domestic workers are forced to work long hours, mistreated and beaten, prompting hundreds to fl ee every year, said Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, a UN special rapporteur on people-trafficking. “The kafala system … creates a situation of vulnerability which favours abusive and exploitative work relationships,” she said.
The kafala system restricts workers from moving to a new job without their boss’s consent before their contracts end, leaving many trapped. Human Rights Watch and other groups have documented widespread abuses under the system, including non-payment of wages, long working hours with no rest days, physical and sexual assault, and no clear channels for redress.
Similar systems operate in all six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council, where about 25 million foreigners live and work. Kafala should be “replaced by a different regulation allowing migrant workers to enjoy substantial freedom in the labour market,” Giammarinaro said at a news conference after a fiveday visit to Kuwait. She welcomed a number of “positive” developments in Kuwait, including the opening of two government-run shelters for female domestic workers who leave their employers.
In July, Kuwait became the first Gulf state to set a minimum wage for its hundreds of thousands of mostly Asian domestic workers. In its 2016 “Trafficking in Persons” report, the US State Department upgraded Kuwait from tier three, the worst level, to tier two while keeping it on watch list, citing an improvement in its treatment of migrant workers, including maids.
SOURCE : ARABTIMES
Trending News
-
Eid Al Fitr 2024: Crescent Moon Not Sighted In Sau...
08 April 2024
-
Kuwait Implements Home Biometrics Services Ahead O...
14 April 2024
-
When Will Eid Al Fitr 2024 Take Place In Qatar, Ba...
08 April 2024
-
On Sunday, The Meteorological Department Warns Of...
07 April 2024
-
Kuwait Airways Provides Update On Flight Schedule...
14 April 2024
-
Kuwait Airways Introduces Convenient Home Luggage...
15 April 2024
-
Gathering For Eid Al-Fitr Prayers: Kuwaiti Citizen...
10 April 2024
-
Winners Of Kuwait National Assembly 2024 Elections
06 April 2024
-
An Egyptian Expat Dies At Kuwait's Airport
11 April 2024
-
Bay Zero Water Park Kuwait: Summer Season Opens Ei...
11 April 2024
Comments Post Comment