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Employers still 'practicing slavery' despite labor laws |
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Monday, 01 November 2010 23:47 |
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KUWAIT: Despite the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor's (MSAL) efforts to end the injustices perpetrated on expatriate workers
, usually cleaning and security staff, by their employers, many local companies continue to casually flout the labor protection laws, resulting in strike action by aggrieved workers. This has led to increasing numbers of people questioning the viability and effectiveness of the measures introduced by the ministry, which seems to be unable or unwilling to end these companies' illegal practices. One MSAL insider accused some local firms of practicing de facto slavery by threatening unpaid workers with dismissal or other penalties if they complain or take strike action at this unjust and illegal treatment. The official told Al-Qabas that he knew of cases in which local firms had ignored MSAL directives instructing them to pay workers in a timely manner or increase their salaries to a living wage, threatening workers with contract termination if they demanded their rights or resorted to strike actio n. Another unnamed MSAL employee suggested that the striking workers themselves, who he characterized as Bangladeshi, are at fault for the injustices inflicted on them, suggesting that strike action is not a positive way to tackle the problems they face. The ministry insider suggested that while Bangladeshi workers typically take strike action over wages which have often been unpaid for months, their Indian counterparts succeed in ending similar abuses through dialogue and other calm and reasoned conflict resolution methods. A senior ministry official agreed that strikes don't help in resolving these problems, especially since the MSAL has vowed to end the workers' problems through enforcing regulations and penalties against their employers, despite largely failing to do so to date. The ministry will force companies to comply with the regulations on raising low-paid workers' salaries, as well as providing them with suitable accommodation and other essential basic living requirements," said Hadi Al-Enezi, the head of the MSAL's labor relations department. With the ministry still in the process of implementing steps to end such crimes as human trafficking in the country, several regional and international bodies are monitoring it closely in order to ensure its compliance with internat ional legislation on these issues. The Arab Labor Organization recently sent an official communiqu asking for clarification of Kuwait's commitment to and observation of regional and international agreements on human trafficking. The statement also mentions a number of recommendations which aim to help Kuwait's efforts in this field, including the introduction of the latest technology to help in detecting and monitoring such phenomena, as well as expediting the criminalization of human trafficking in the country. Senior MSAL officials yesterday took part in a meeting with their counterparts from other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states to discuss a proposal for the establishment of a unified supreme advisory body on human rights, which would provide a unified set of procedures and responses to human rights abuses. - Kuwait Times
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