KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti government is currently drafting a bill to protect the rights of the 600,000 domestic workers employed in the country, with Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Mohammad Al- Afassi revealing recently that a law protecting the domestic workers' rights will be issued in May of this year. This comes just after the new private sector labor law came into effect in Kuwait following tumultuous discussion and deliberation of it in the Kuwaiti parliament over the last few months. The new law gra
nts more rights to all other foreign private sector workers, but does not cover employees in the domestic labor sector, which has been called the most vulnerable expatriate workforce in the country.

With many observers criticizing the new law for not including clauses to cover domestic workers' rights, the Kuwait Times spoke with some expats, particularly housemaids, asking what they think about the government plan and what specific clauses should be added in a new domestic workers' bill?

A Filipino community leader, who spoke with this reporter on condition of anonymity, said that he hoped that management of domestic labor affairs would be transferred to a civilian authority rather than managed by the uniformed personnel of the Ministry of Interior.

I am not comfortable witnessing all the concerns regarding domestic workers' issues here being managed by uniformed men [police]. For one thing, it is scary and not at all friendly. These people are the most vulnerable workforce; they have no arms, not even a cane, to harm anyone, so why should their daily management be supervised by the police?" he asked.

He argued that any domestic worker with any problem will hesitate initially to cooperate with the police for 1,001 different reasons. "I believe that housemaids should be given a special agency managed by civilians. If there are threats, then they can station some uniformed men in the agency, but they shouldn't be managed by police," he said.

An Indonesian community leader said that he'd like to see a more modern way of managing domestic labor affairs. "Why is it that Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia can manage their domestic labor issues properly? Why not Kuwait?" he asked. "I think it's a matter of imposing a law that has a genuine goal of helping the housemaids, not just because they want to polish their image in the international community, but due to the fact that these people are human beings who need real protection.

Meanwhile, housemaids like Lala and Dina, told the Kuwait Times that they want to experience a real, regular day off every week like other workers. "We have been working with our employer for the last five years with only one day a year off. I want to experience a regular day off and I hope they'll include that in the new bill and implement it accordingly," she mentioned.

Rea, another housemaid, complained about overwork and limited sleep. "My problem here in my job is that if they have a visitor, I have no right to take a rest," she explained. "They have visitors until at least 2-3am; it means I have only three or four hours sleep every night. I hope they'll draft a bill to include the proper working hours - ten hours or twelve hours a day would be good.

Gina, meanwhile, wanted to see Kuwait impose a mandatory minimum monthly salary of $400. "Yes, we deserve a $400 salary; we work very hard, almost 24 hours a day, but we only get KD50-60? That is not enough," she asserted. "I hope the government will consider this.

From the very first drafts of the recently introduced private sector labor law, observers like the International Labor Organization (ILO), Human Rights Watch and others called on Kuwaiti authorities to seriously consider including clauses to protect the rights of the country's domestic workers.

Meanwhile, one Kuwaiti official has suggested reducing the number of domestic workers brought into the country to help maintain a demographic balance and combat human trafficking. - Kuwaittimes