New Minimum Wage for Kuwait's Expat Workers Paves the Way for Domestic Worker Reforms

Despite the inaction seen in Bahrain to institute a universal minimum wage for workers outside of the public sector, progressive measures are being taken by neighboring Kuwait to implement upgrades to its newly approved labor law.

The Trade Arabia News Source released an article recently that revealed the approval of a minimum wage for expatriate workers of approximately 207 USD per month. Although the salary is relatively small, this is a major milestone across the GCC countries, and especially within Kuwait; a country that has traditionally neglected the establishment of legal safeguards to protect its foreign population from exploitation and coercion by Kuwaiti citizens.

Kuwait's new labor law was approved earlier this year, and until that time, had not been reformed in over forty years.

Although a minimum wage is certain to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of Kuwait's foreign workers, domestic workers are currently excluded from the new labor law.

The article also focused on promulgating legislation that would enforce a new minimum wage for Kuwait's estimated 600,000 domestic workers, employed as maids, drivers, gardeners and security guards. A proposed salary of 45 Kuwaiti Dinars (approximately 154 USD) is one of several reforms that will be included in the draft domestic worker law, along with amendments to enforce working hours, payment of wages and protection from abuse.

Such legislation would vastly improve the lives of domestic workers who are often forced to work 16-hour days. If the current draft law is approved by parliament, working hours for domestic workers would be limited to eight per day, employers would no longer be allowed to withhold passports, and workers would be allowed one day off per week and time-off during national holidays.

Skeptics still question the extent to which the government would be able to enforce the new law given the high sensitivity associated with domestic issues (within private homes) and how they should be regulated by the Ministry of Social Development (responsible for regulating all other foreign workers). For example, the new law would impose fines on employers who fail to pay their domestic workers, but there are no mechanisms in place to enforce or prove that a violation has been committed. Since most sponsors do not allow their domestic workers to contact their embassies or law enforcement agents, most cases go unreported.

Bahrain's Reliance on Cheap Labor Justifies Inaction on Minimum Wage Implementation

In a rather unsurprising development that touched the English-speaking media of Bahrain, a senior representative of the Bahraini Government stated publicly that the implementation of a minimum wage for expatriate workers would directly harm the island Kingdom's economy and limit regional competitiveness. In his remarks to a human rights commission, the legal advisor for Bahrain's Ministry of Labor further commented that the implementation of a minimum wage will make businessmen reluctant to invest in Bahrain if it lacks the advantage of cheap labor.

Thankfully, a human rights activist responded by slamming the government's decision, rejecting government claims that a minimum wage would hurt the national economy, or that it was ample grounds to revoke the rights of laborers or infringe upon their human rights.

This is one, of several examples that trace back to a source of inaction by the Bahraini government to acknowledge the abuses of its migrant workers, who currently amount to over 50% of the country's overall population. A disconnect continues to prevail, wherein the Bahraini government fails to grant or even recognize fundamental rights that should be awarded to expatriate workers regardless of their nationality. It is unjust, and inhumane to recruit workers from abroad, to promise them wages, and then to either withhold or garnish those wages without any legal protections under a competent and capable government.

The average migrant worker makes under 80 Bahraini Dinars a month, a pitiful and nearly unlivable salary that forces many into dilapidated housing and enhanced exposure to disease and long-term health risks, due to limited caloric intake. Champions for this minimum wage are not even asking for more than this amount, they are just pushing for a system that will force companies to pay workers what they deserve in their contracts

This perpetual inaction certainly does not stop with the expatriate community living in Bahrain, national citizens themselves continue to fight for a legal minimum wage as well. Only recently did the government approve a minimum wage for government employees-how convenient. Cheap labor competition is the endemic response to local cries for employment for young Bahrainis seeking jobs but demanding higher salaries than their expatriate counterparts. The majority of the working class still lacks the same safeguards one would expect in a country that boasts a business friendly, economically diversified, and liberal working environment to the outside world. But it is becoming all too evident, and reaffirmed by the powers that be, that this facade can only be sustained by cheap labor. It would be more responsible of the Ministry of Labor to formulate solutions to its alleged economic precariousness, which apparently will be destabilized with the implementation of responsible and stimulating safeguards that improve the economic viability of life of the working class, rather than relying on a system that continues to subjugate, demoralize, and muster resentment for tens if not hundreds of thousands of Bahrain's residents.

This same representative also added that the Ministry of Labor had no intention of bringing Bahrain's 27,000 domestic workers under the new Labor Law, but that they would receive protection and be subjected to several rules and provisions that would ensure that their basic rights are safeguarded. HOW? It continues to baffle me how government representatives can continue to release formal statements that lack any evidentiary support. If domestic workers continue to remain outside of the jurisdiction of a labor law, there are no mechanisms in place that can shield them from: abuse, trafficking, withheld salaries or documentation, and exploitation. We need to see more tangible results or proposed ACTION following comments like these.

You have to give credit to those who can release public statements that clearly perpetuate a flawed system that is negatively impacting so many peoples' lives and lacks any attempts to correct those injustices.

HRW Commends Bahrain's Sponsorship Reforms but Highlights Shortcomings for Domestic Workers

To elaborate further on an early post found in this blog, Human Rights Watch (HRW) recently released a report highlighting the slow reforms that are taking place in the labor sectors of several source and destination countries for human trafficking, including Bahrain. Despite several shortcomings in the country, Bahrain was commended for its unprecedented reforms to the Kafala Sponsorship System, which for the first time in the region, awards migrant workers the rights to switch sponsors without consent, and in the absence of unpaid wages, or allegations of abuse.

Bahrain's Minister of Labor has justified Bahrain's interest in reform by linking the sponsorship system with modern-day slavery.

Although the new system of sponsorship still offers loopholes for coercion by exploitive employers, it offers a jumping-off point for further development in the future.

HRW plans to forward recommendations directly to the Bahraini Government to address its inaction on domestic worker issues, and notes that all of the governments in this particular report fell short of providing minimum protections to prevent abuse of domestic workers. The report addressed shortcomings pertaining to domestic workers' lack of protection under national labor laws, regulation of immigration and monitoring of recruitment agency absconding, effective responses by police and courts following allegations of physical or sexual abuse, and involvement by civil society actors and labor unions.

Other key recommendations encouraged regional governments to award domestic workers the rights to freedom of association to highlight common grievances and offer a forum for improvements, as well as, approval for legal status of migrant and domestic workers involved in court proceedings. Currently, domestic workers who present allegations of abuse to police undertake an illegal immigration status by default, deterring many from reporting crimes committed against them and resulting in immediate deportation.

Finally, Justice and Islamic Affairs Ministries were encouraged to provide increased services for survivors of abuse, to establish better parameters for identifying cases of human trafficking from forced domestic servitude, and to prevent, investigate, and prosecute criminal violence against domestic workers.

Saudi Arabia's Rahma Campaign Encourages Mercy Towards Foreign Workers

In a slightly older article I recently came across, the BBC highlights the plight of domestic workers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the innovative methods the government is taking to raise awareness of the common abuses its estimated 1.5 million domestic workers face. According to Human Rights Watch, domestic workers are often treated like slaves under a legal system that does not allot any protections to migrant workers from their violent, coercive or exploitive sponsors.

The Rahma (Mercy) Campaign highlighting these injustices is aired on state-owned satellite television channels and national newspapers in Saudi Arabia, as well as in the London-based newspaper Al-Hayat. Print versions depict a maid with a dog collar around her neck sitting in a kennel, and a foreign chauffeur harnessed like a horse with a Saudi woman holding the reins.

In the video campaign (below), a Saudi man is seen shouting at his foreign maid for not ironing his clothes properly. Another scene shows him shouting racial slurs from his car at an Asian worker. 2 additional commercials have been aired to date and are also included in the following clip.



At the end of the first clip, the words appear, "Man la yarham, la yurham (He who shows no mercy, will receive no mercy [from God])," automatically equating inhumane treatment of other humans as a crime under Islam. Similar moralistic quotes pertaining to Islam conclude the other clips as well.

To quote the Director-General of the Saudi Advertising Agency, and supporter of the campaign, "we [Saudi Arabians] are obliged to treat them [helpers] well. Why ask them to do things that we can't bear ourselves? If we have mercy on them, then Allah will have mercy on us."

Many local media-outlets refused to endorse the campaign saying that it would be too shocking and that it makes Saudi Arabians look cruel and heartless.

Saudi Arabia opens its doors to some of the highest numbers of expatriate workers in the region but arguably offers the least safeguards to shield them from abuse, specifically regarding rights of movement, withholding of documentation, legal reprise against abusive sponsors, and protection from gender-based violence committed against housemaids and other female domestic workers.

Partial Reforms Fail Migrant Domestic Workers Human Rights Watch Reports

PRESS RELEASE from Human Rights Watch:

(New York) - The reforms undertaken by Middle Eastern and Asian governments fall far short of the minimum protections needed to tackle abuses against migrant domestic workers, Human Rights Watch said today in a report released in advance of May 1, International Labor Day. Despite recent improvements, millions of Asian and African women workers remain at high risk of exploitation and violence, with little hope of redress, Human Rights Watch said.

The 26-Page Report, "Slow Reform: Protection of Migrant Domestic Workers in Asia and the Middle East," reviews conditions in eight countries with large numbers of migrant domestic workers: Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Singapore, and Malaysia. The report surveys progress in extending protection to domestic workers under labor laws, reforming immigration "sponsorship" systems that contribute to abuse, ensuring effective response by police and courts to physical and sexual violence, and allowing civil society and trade unions to organize.

"Several governments have made concrete improvements for migrant domestic workers in the past five years, but in general, reforms have been slow, incremental, and hard-fought," said Nisha Varia, women's rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Jordan deserves credit for including domestic work in their labor law, but enforcement remains a big concern. Singapore has prosecuted physical abuse against domestic workers vigorously, but fails to guarantee them even one day off a week."

Several countries across the Middle East and Asia host significant numbers of migrant domestic workers, ranging from 196,000 in Singapore and 200,000 in Lebanon to approximately 660,000 in Kuwait and 1.5 million in Saudi Arabia. Migrant domestic work is an important source of employment for women from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Nepal, India, and Ethiopia. Migrant domestic workers' earnings constitute a significant proportion of the billions of dollars of remittances sent to these countries each year.

Human Rights Watch research over the past five years has shown that migrant domestic workers risk a range of abuses. Common complaints include unpaid wages, excessive working hours with no time for rest, and heavy debt burdens from exorbitant recruitment fees. Isolation in private homes and forced confinement in the workplace contribute to psychological, physical, and sexual violence, forced labor, and trafficking.

"Reforms often encounter stiff resistance both from employers used to having a domestic worker on call around the clock and labor brokers profiting handsomely off a poorly regulated system," Varia said. "Governments should make protecting these vulnerable workers a priority."

Most governments exclude domestic workers from their main labor laws, denying them protections guaranteed to other workers, such as limits to hours of work or a weekly day of rest. Only Jordan has amended its labor law to include domestic workers, guaranteeing protections such as monthly payment of salaries into a bank account, a weekly day off, paid annual and sick leave, and a maximum 10-hour workday. However, domestic workers cannot leave the workplace without permission from their employer.

The governments of Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia have all publicly announced they will amend existing labor laws or draft new legislation on domestic work. But despite years of proposals, none have adopted such reforms. Saudi Arabia's Shura Council approved an annex on domestic work to the labor law, but the cabinet has not yet approved it. Singapore's Ministry of Manpower has repeatedly rejected calls to extend labor law protections to domestic workers.

"Instead of ensuring protection under labor laws, governments have relied on creating standard employment contracts or bilateral agreements with labor-sending countries, Varia said. "Employment contracts and bilateral agreements may be better than nothing, but with weaker protections than labor laws, they effectively reinforce discrimination against domestic workers."

Immigration reforms have proceeded even more slowly than labor reforms, Human Rights Watch said. In the countries surveyed, domestic workers migrate on fixed-term visas, under which their employers double as their immigration sponsors. This system heightens the risk of abuse by giving inordinate control to employers, who can have domestic workers sent home at will or prohibit them from being hired by a new employer.

"Governments have dragged their feet on reforms to the immigration sponsorship system, which contributes to forced labor and trafficking," Varia said. "They need to move quickly to find alternatives, such as shifting sponsorship from employers to labor authorities or closely monitored employment agencies."

Human Rights Watch also examined the governments' responses to criminal abuses against domestic workers. Some governments have begun to investigate and successfully prosecute abuse against domestic workers, but numerous obstacles continue to stand in the way of such victories, Human Rights Watch found. For example, systems for filing complaints are often out of reach of domestic workers trapped in private homes and unable to speak the local language.

For cases that do reach the attention of the authorities, legal proceedings often stretch over years, while victims typically wait in overcrowded shelters, unable to work. The lengthy waits and uncertain outcomes cause many domestic workers to withdraw their complaints or negotiate financial settlements so they can return home quickly. In other cases, domestic workers who bring charges are forced to defend themselves against counter-allegations of theft, witchcraft, and adultery.

"Successful prosecutions of abusive employers and labor brokers is not only justice served but also a strong deterrent against abuse," Varia said. Governments should establish accessible ways to file complaints, expedite legal proceedings, and ensure a minimum standard of social services, such as shelter and health care, during the process."

Reforms on regulating domestic work are taking place not only at the national level, but globally. In recognition of the importance of protecting a major source of employment that has been historically neglected, members of the International Labor Organization will begin formal discussions in June to establish global labor standards for domestic work. Lebanon, Bahrain, and Jordan support legally binding standards, while Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates support a nonbinding recommendation. Singapore and Kuwait did not submit official responses.

Human Rights Watch urged governments to take the following steps to prevent and respond to abuses against migrant domestic workers:

-Extend equal labor protections in national law to domestic workers, and address unique circumstances relating to their intermittent working hours, lodging, and board;
-Improve regulation and oversight of employment agencies and fees charged to these workers by private recruitment agencies;
-Reform immigration policies so that workers' visas are not tied to individual sponsors, and so that they can change employers without the first employer's consent;
-Improve workers' access to the criminal justice system, including through confidential complaint mechanisms, prosecutions, and expansion of victim services;
-Cooperate with labor-sending countries to monitor transnational recruitment, respond to complaints of abuse, and facilitate repatriation;
-Support a binding convention on domestic work with an accompanying recommendation during the International Labour Conference in June.

Qatar: How The World's Wealthiest Nation Per Capita Relies on Migrant Worker Labor

In an attempt to further expand the scope of my research, I recently attended a few meetings and conferences in the State of Qatar to better assess the human rights and migrant labor issues that this majestic city-state currently faces. Qatar hosts the most dramatic demographic contradictions between its local population and the migrant worker community that it must outsource in order to accomdate its rapid and unparalleled Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Indistry. With only 350,000 Qatari citizens inhabitiing a nation that boasts the highest production and export of LNG in the world, Qatar ranks number one for the world's highest GDP per capita income and embodies a rentier welfare-state in its most basic description. However, the wealth that Qataris enjoy is at the expense of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers that are brought to the country on two-year contracts to work in nearly every sector and industry that the country has consecrated, mostly because the Qataris have no interest in working in positions that are not managerial or administrative. They hold a reputation that is even more negatively slanted than their Kuwaiti counter-parts, attributed largely to the country's massive natural resource wealth that provides a backbone for lavish lifestyles that are serviced and maintained by the hands of poor, outsourced laborers.

However, it is unfair to immediately dismiss the Qataris in their efforts to regulate and protect their migrant worker population. Higher income for Qataris has trickled down the economic latter and raised income levels for migrant workers to higher salaries than anywhere else in the region, and legitimacy of private sector employment contracts is upheld and regulated by the Ministry of Interior. Unlike other parts of the region, Qatar maintains a strict turn-over of migrant workers to prevent long-term residency and the potential to reap attractive welfare benefits. As a result, sponsors are less able to withhold wages and force their employees to stay in the country longer than the 2-year period the law allows. Although issues like withheld passports, coercive employment tactics (i.e. false contracts), and rights to change employers continue to remain crucial issues for anti-trafficking and human rights advocates, Qatar has seen rapid advancements under its labor law, with many foreseeable positive developments on the horizon.

Some of these developments have already come to fruition, and include, the abolition of the Camel Jockey industry. Previous to the Qatari Government's intervention in this regionally cultural tradition, underage children or "camel jockeys" were recruited from south Asia to participate in extremely dangers recreational races for entertainment purposes. Many were seriously injured and malnourished to keep them within race-weight standards. Now, the industry has made use of electronic jockeys instead, which has allegedly stopped the flow of the children who were previously trafficked into the country and exploited.

Another major development is the incorporation of anti-trafficking statutes under the current labor law. I will underscore that there is still no anti-trafficking law (although talk of drafting one has been reported); nevertheless, statutes exist that make use of similar language and highlight relative clauses that penalize trafficking of laborers. Qataris have even been tried, convicted, and imprisoned under these statutes-something barely seen in arguably more labor-friendly countries like Bahrain.

Like its neighbors, Qatari labor law maintains a crucial fault with regard to its domestic worker population (including housemaids, drivers, cooks and gardeners) who are not offered any legal protection under the current labor law or benefits that are awarded to private sector employees. Salries, days-off and contracts are the responsibility of the sponsor and offer considerable room for ambiguity and abuse to exploitive employers. However, in response to growing criticisms from the international communities towards Qatar and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), new interest has developed in drafting a formal labor law that will better regulate Qatar domestic worker population.

Featured on the front page of one of the country's principle English-speaking newspapers, The Peninsula, an article described the development of a new Domestic labor law being drafted by a special panel tasked with finalizing the regulation of rights and duties of domestic workers. The panel will incorporate representatives from several government agencies and will review with other GCC countries. The draft law may finally provide privileges to domestic employees, like end-of-service benefits, annual leave, and free medical care. These and other formal arrangements would have to be included in contracts between sponsors and their employees and would require endorsement by the Labor Department to be considered legally valid. The law might also regulate the functioning of manpower agencies and their role in hiring domestic workers in the country, the Peninsula reported.

And finally, the sponsorship system. Found in all countries except for Bahrain officially, but actually found in all countries of the Gulf unofficially, Qatar's sponsorship system seems to be the most archaic and limited with regard to a worker's access to mobility. As is required in Kuwait, Oman, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, a sponsor must provide consent for his employer to change to a different sponsor. In Qatar, the process is further complicated with the addition of a second party that must approve a change of employment as well-the Ministry of Interior, and it was brought to my attention that it is more often the Ministry of Interior that denies a worker the right to change his/her sponsor, the motivation from which derives from some very interesting sources. The Qatari government is known to grant shifts in sponsorship only when diplomatic relations between the expatriate's home-country and Qatar are strong. Political turbulence may often result in a denied petition for a valid change of employment slip. Additionally, the Ministry is known to turn down applicants that are seeking higher salaries from the new sponsor they wish to work for, or if the position could be filled by a Qatari citizen. Qatar, like Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait has embraced a new economic development model that "ization-izes" the national population and encourages locals to enter the job market. Limiting positions for expatriates is an effective way to open up the job market to locals but discourages the professional development of expatriates.

Qatar presents an intriguing case study for human trafficking and migrant worker issues in the Arabian Gulf. I intend to keep my attention partially focused on the peninsula as it embarks on a proactive course of action to improve its labor laws and the lives of its expatriate workforce. I am sure there will be some follow-up.

Migrant Worker Struggles in the Arab Gulf States

Below is an informative summation of migrant worker struggles in the Arab Gulf States put together by the team of Mideast Youth.org. Although not all migrant workers are subject to ill treatment in the region, many suffer unimaginable abuses and continue to be neglected under regional laws. For specific cases pulled from regional reporters, please go to www.migrant-rights.org to learn more.

Minimum Wage in Bahrain In the Wake of Domestic Worker Discussion

In early April the Bahraini Parliament approved an unprecedented minimum wage law for government employees and members of the Armed Forces amounting to 300 Bahraini Dinars (BD) per month (approx. 795 USD).

The Gulf Daily News Reports that the new minimum wage law will take effect January 1, 2011 and will cost the Bahraini Government 100 million Bahrain Dinars annually and will incorporate the total 1,023 government employees currently receiving a salary lower than 300 BD per month, accounting for a total of 37,000 employees eligible for the new minimum wage.

The new minimum wage law will now be ratified by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

Although a significant step forward, this minimum wage affects only a small percentage of Bahrain's workforce and does not consider salaries of migrant and domestic workers.

However, it appears that new attention is being focused on establishing a minimum wage for domestic female workers following a recent move by the Filipino Government's Office of Overseas Employment Administration, which is now demanding that salaries for its overseas housemaids be increased to 400 USD per month. Bahrain's Labor Market Regulatory Authority has already responded by stating that laws issued in the Philippines will not be binding in Bahrain.

Issues of a minimum wage and days-off for female expat workers were also the primary topics at a debate and subsequent roundtable discussion for selected prominent female activists at the Bahrain National Museum in late March.

Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society (BHRWS) Women, Children and Minorities rights director Hala Ramzy Fayez said that all domestic workers should have the right to a minimum wage, weekly day of rest, be given maternity leave, and public holidays.

In a quotation from her organization's website, Ms Fayez stated that ""although on the whole, migrant workers enjoy labour rights and a good working environment, there are some sectors where some suffer from low pay, an inappropriate working environment and living conditions resulting in unpleasant experiences." She added that estimating the prevalence of abuse was difficult, given the lack of reporting mechanisms available - which in turn caused a lack of legal protection for domestic workers.

Domestic Worker Enslavement Leads to Increasing Suicide Attempts in Kuwait

To follow-up on an earlier posting from this blog on the startling increase in suicide attempts by mirgrant workers, new data documented in the Migrant-Rights.org blog has revealed that an already dire situation continues to detioriate in Kuwait, where a migrant or domestic worker attempts or fully commits suicide every other day. This trend is emerging as a consequence of the poor and abusive working conditions that Kuwait's expatriate workers face and how many are simply unable to cope.

Migrant-Rights.org reveals that between February 19 and March 25, 2010 (35 days), 17 suicide cases were reported in Kuwait's local media; usually in just two sentences under the "crime" section and without identifiable information other than the victim's nationality. Most of the workers who commit suicide are reported to be domestic workers who simply are not offered any legal protection under Kuwait's private sector labor law, and as a result, remain completely dependent on the sponsors that employ them.

It is illegal for domestic workers to leave the employing authority held by their sponsor, presenting limited options to move freely and escape enslavement.

Kuwait's Minister of Social Development Reveals Domestic Worker Law Will be Issued in May 2010

It appears that new legislation to protect Kuwait's 600,000 domestic workers is now in the works following last month's official publication of an updated labor law for expatriate workers in the private sector, following months of parliamentary discussions and deliberations. Kuwait's Minister of Social Development, Mohammad al-Afassi revealed that his ministry (officially responsible for the legal rights of domestic workers) would be issuing a new law as early as this coming May. A new interest in passing legislation that addresses Kuwait's domestic labor force, affecting housemaids, drivers and landscapers follows international pressures, NGO lobbying, and heightened criticism over grievances that were not addressed in the new private sector labor law. Up until February of 2010, Kuwait's labor law had not been updated in over 45 years.

The Kuwait Times profiled several interviews with domestic housemaids, asking them what they believed would be the most important clauses the new labor law should include. One worker insisted that matters dealing with domestic workers should be addressed by civilian authorities, and not the "scary and unfriendly" uniformed representatives of the Ministry of Interior. Two other housemaids highlighted the need for one day off during the workweek. They stated that they had been working for their current employers for 5 years and were only allowed one day off a year under their current arrangement! An extension of this request is the establishment of a work-day and legal working hours.

The vulnerability of domestic workers and the lack of freedom they awarded under the current laws has been exposed recently with heightened statistics on suicide rates in the country. There is currently no option for employees to switch employers without consent and low or even non-existent wages in exchange for their work make it impossible for most to repay the debts they owe for their work visas.

Meanwhile, one Kuwaiti official has suggested reducing the number of domestic workers who are allowed to enter Kuwait and shortening the current validity periods of worker visas to shift current demographic ratios and potentially prevent human trafficking.

Kuwait's New Labor Law Neglects 1/3 of its Population

I recently returned from a short research trip to Kuwait last week, where I met with an expert and active advocate on migrant labor rights and Kuwait’s new labor law, which was officially passed at the end of 2009, marking a new, significant, and uncomfortably overdue step forward taken by the Kuwaiti Government. Shockingly, no reforms were made to the country’s previous archaic and historic labor law in over 45 years.

The most significant difference seen in Kuwait’s labor law when compared to Bahrain’s recent labor reforms stems from a fundamental division of expatriate worker groups and their associated legal entitlements. To elaborate, different laws are applicable to Kuwaitis, all expatriates excluding domestic workers and (as a result) domestic workers. Previously, the country’s racially discriminate labor law tended to only favor Kuwaiti employers/sponsors and neglected the rights of the majority of Kuwait’s workforce outsourced from abroad.

The amended labor law of 2009 now offers several new achievements for Kuwaiti citizens and expatriate workers living in Kuwait, granting (amongst other things) more public holidays, paid annual leave, and an increase in termination notification timelines regardless of nationality. Despite these highly anticipated gains, housemaids and domestic drivers are absent from this law’s jurisdiction, and even today, despite encouragement from local enthusiasts and an indication that such a law is forthcoming, there is still no legislation that addresses the rights of these domestic workers in private homes. Kuwait’s new labor law has laid the groundwork for an anticipated law who’s jurisdiction will fall under the Ministry of Interior, given the sensitivity of addressing legal disputes that emerge in the privacy of the homes of Kuwaiti citizens, and many are hopeful that this law will be presented in Parliament within the next six months, hopefully ending the perpetual cycles of abuse and illegal withholding of wages and documentation that leave a total of 800,000 housemaids vulnerable to coercion. I will underscore that there are 800,000 maids working in Kuwait within a total population that is just under three million.

Kuwait is one of several countries that I will be visiting within the region as I incorporate comparative analysis research into my overall project on migrant labor across the peninsula. Kuwait, in comparison with Bahrain is lagging severely in responsibly accommodating its expatriate population, which currently amounts to over 65% of the country’s total population. A renewed focus on its previously dormant labor law demonstrates the Kuwaiti Government’s interest in reform; however, 45 years of neglect indicate that continued reform will be an arduous process that will require expanded legislation to better address vulnerable contracted and domestic workers that are excluded from current jurisdiction, a legal mechanism to confront perpetrators of human trafficking, and the abolishment of Kuwait’s sponsorship system.

An expanded explanation of the sources of Kuwait’s human trafficking problem and ways the government is responding to follow.