Shia Strength: [MahdiUniteMuslims] Kuwait plans to scrap sponsor system

Kuwait follows Bahrain in easing sponsorship terms

August 05, 2009

Manama: Foreigners in Kuwait will be able to sponsor themselves if they maintain an impeccable record after a two-year stay in the country, the social affairs and labour minister has said.

The move is part of a plan to put an end to the sponsorship system that Kuwait is determined to cancel, Mohammad Al Affassi said.

"I am serious about finding a solution to the issue, particularly that it affects the reputation of Kuwait and has highly significant humanitarian dimensions. Putting an end to the sponsorship system also means the elimination of trafficking in residence and work permits," Al Affassi was quoted as saying by Al Dar daily.

The minister has recently been calling for an end to the "kafala" system and his latest statement was made four days after Bahrain implemented a decision to scrap the controversial sponsorship system, allowing foreigners to switch jobs without the consent of the employer. Bahrain's move was praised by human rights organisations and several embassies, but harshly criticised by the local business community on the grounds that it would hurt the economy and disrupt social agreements.

Under the sponsorship system, a foreigner cannot enter or leave the country or move to another employer without the specific approval of the sponsor. The system, which has no legal anchor, has been put in place to preserve the interests of the employers and regulate the entry and exit of foreign workers.

Bahrain in May said that it was doing away with the system, citing keenness to apply international human rights practices and a desire to regulate its labour market overwhelmingly dominated by foreigners, mainly unskilled workers from India and Pakistan.

Qatar weeks later said that it was closely monitoring developments in Bahrain to assess the situation, but without making official commitments.

The Kuwaiti minister's announcement is seen as a reinforcement of the overall Gulf officials' drive to address a situation that is unique in the world.

"The ministry will put out several regulations to ensure the existence of specific and clear laws. Foreigners should not be abused and the ones who can prove after two or three years of their stay in Kuwait that they have an excellent record of good behaviour will be allowed to sponsor themselves..." Al Affassi said.

http://www.gulfnews.com/news/gulf/kuwait/10337771.html

Kuwait plans to scrap sponsor system

11 September 2009

KUWAIT CITY – Kuwait will soon start a gradual process of scrapping the sponsorship system for foreign workers, a minister said in press comments Thursday.

Under the scheme, applied in most other Gulf states, foreign workers must be sponsored by a local businessman. Rights groups say that the system spawns widespread abuses.

"The ministry plans to scrap the sponsorship system for certain categories of expatriates provided they have a clean security record," Social Affairs and Labor Minister Mohammed Al-Afasi said in comments published in Al-Anbaa daily.

Al-Afasi said under the plan, exempted workers can sponsor themselves and will enjoy full freedom of movement and choosing jobs.

The minister did not specify the groups to be covered but said this will depend on the duration of their stay in Kuwait and type of work.

"The sponsor system is against human liberty," said the minister.

"The current situation is almost chaotic with regards to the exploitation of foreign workers and depriving them of many rights stipulated by the law."

Under the sponsor system, foreign workers are bonded to their employers and have no right to move to other jobs without the prior approval of their current employers.

However, Al-Afasi last month allowed workers who served for three years with one employers to seek other jobs without prior permission.

Of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, only Bahrain has relaxed the sponsorship requirements.

The sponsorship system provides governments with an important means for monitoring labor flow.

About 13 million foreign workers, live in GCC which has a population of around 35 million.

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2009091149518

Kuwait new labour law to abolish sponsorship system

October 07, 2009

Manama: Kuwait's new labour law draft will include a government suggestion to abolish the sponsorship system and to set up a non-profit authority to oversee the conditions and status of expatriates, the social affairs and labour minister has said.

"The authority will also be tasked with assessing the needs of private and public establishments and companies in human resources and will cooperate closely with the relevant embassies on Kuwait's needs for foreign workers," Mohammad Al Afassi said.

The proposed changes will also call for a separation between the labour and social affairs to help set up an independent labour authority that will tackle the huge responsibilities, the minister said in a statement to Al Qabas daily.

Kuwait, under Al Afassi, has been pushing for a better deal for the hundreds of thousands of expatriates living in the northern Arabian Gulf state. The sponsorship system, kafala, mandates that expatriates be sponsored by a local employer to obtain a work and a residence permit, giving sponsors the possibility to control a foreign worker's entry into and departure from the country as well as his legal and professional status.

"We totally reject the violation of the expatriates' rights and we will confront all visa traffickers," Al Afassi said.

The labour law draft is expected to be reviewed by the parliament during the new term. Several lawmakers have supported the efforts to adopt new laws regulating the labour market among mounting opposition from several quarters.

The fight against traffickers in people should see active participation from several officials, Badr Al Douwaila, a former labour minister, said.

"The war on the phenomenon of trafficking in residence permits and the drive to name and shame traffickers should be confined to one minister. All those involved in such malpractices, be their state employees, business people, will be denounced because this is matter about the reputation and the destiny of a country," he told Al Qabas.

At a press conference following a meeting with representatives of the International Labor Organization (ILO) visiting Kuwait, social affairs and labour undersecretary Mohammad Al Kandari said that "Self-employed expatriates such as carpenters, blacksmiths, barbers, butchers and mechanics, will be allowed to sponsor themselves and will not have to be under a Kuwaiti sponsor."

The move is one of the several steps the government is mulling as an alternative to the sponsorship system, he said.

ILO regional manager Nada Al Nashef welcomed moves by Kuwait to scrap the sponsorship system, saying that Kuwait was among the first countries that sought assistance from the ILO to carry out studies to find alternatives to the system.

The ILO official said that she looked forward to the adoption of the new labour law that would abolish the sponsorship system.

Bahrain in August became the first Gulf cooperation Council country to scrap the system, a move that was warmly welcomed by labour and rights activists, but fiercely resisted by several businesses.

Bahrain said that by allowing foreign workers to switch jobs without the consent of the employers, it sought to rectify a wrong situation that Majeed Al Alawi, the labour minister and the driving force behind the move, likened to "modern-day slavery."

http://www.gulfnews.com/news/gulf/kuwait/10355414.html

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