KUWAIT: The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor recently concluded a workshop to respond to the International Labor Organization (ILO)'s report on labor rights in Kuwait. The workshop, which opened on Feb 7, gathered representatives of the Geneva-based ILO including Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, Director of the International Labor Standards Department.

Speaking to reporters after the closing ceremony, Doumbia-Henry said Kuwait's new Labor Law would mend the loopholes and end the problems of the sponsor system. She added that during her recent visit to Kuwait's Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) she realized the causes of concern for the KCCI officials over the law ratio of national workforce in the private sector.

The problem of Kuwaitization could advisably be solved through a tripartite committee made up of the government, employers and employee delegates," she suggested. During her stay here, Doumbia-Henry learnt about the concerns of the trade unions over the current privatization policy, noting that there are some sectors which should be excluded from privatization.

Kuwait's labor market is in need of reforms in order to build the capacity of the national cadres. The Kuwaiti government has to ratify the ILO Convention No. 100 joined by 131 countries so far, she pointed out. Kuwait needs to join the other conventions of the organization.

Foreign laborers particularly the housemaids pose the biggest challenge for Kuwait, she said, noting that their problems usually front-page the local dailies. The ILO is serious in the combat against human trafficking, Doumbia-Henry said, urging for collective effort by all countries to put an end to "this global menace.

Meanwhile, ILO's representative in Kuwait Thabet Al-Haroun said the organization strives to get the labor standards applied in all countries of the world without exception. "The ILO member states need to dovetail their local labor legislations to the conventions and recommendations of the organization in order to protect the interests of employers and employees alike," he affirmed.

The issuance of Kuwait's civil sector labor act is a big stride forward but the legislation needs to be in tune with the ILO regulations," Al-Haroun pointed out. "Article 9 of the law entitles the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor to set up an employment authority which could replace the sponsor system. In so-doing the state, not the sponsor, will be responsible for protecting the interests of employees," he revealed. - Kuwait Times