Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1995, published 83rd ILC session (1996)

Social Policy (Basic Aims and Standards) Convention, 1962 (No. 117) - Kuwait (Ratification: 1963)

With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report and requests the Government to provide further information on the following points.

Article 11. The Committee recalls that Act No. 38 of 1964 concerning labour in the private sector, which gives effect, among others, to this Article excludes certain categories of workers, such as temporary workers and workers in small undertakings, from its scope (section 2 of the Act), and that the Committee requested the Government to take measures so as to extend the protection of wages contemplated in this Article of the Convention to the workers excluded from the scope of the above Act. It notes Act No. 28 of 1969 concerning labour in the petroleum industry to which the Government refers in the report, which contains only one provision (section 169) concerning the lodging that relates to the application of this Article. The Committee further notes the Government's indication that a new draft Private Sector Labour Code is under the constitutional procedures, and hopes that the Government will supply its copy as well as information on any other measures taken for the protection of wages of workers excluded from the scope of the 1964 Act.

Article 12. The Committee notes the Government's repeated reference to sections 28, 31 and 32 of Act No. 38 of 1964, defining the "wages" and regulating the deduction from, and assignment of, wages for the repayment of debts, respectively. It also notes the Government's explanation that the limit to the amount of advances on wages is not fixed so as to enable workers to meet various contingencies without having recourse to banks which charge heavy interest.

The Committee points out that, although Article 12 of the Convention requires regulation of the maximum amounts of advances on wages by the competent authority, it does not prescribe where such maximum should be set, and thus leaves the matter to the discretion of the competent authority. Therefore, it again requests the Government to indicate any measures taken or envisaged to give effect to this provision of the Convention.