Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Kuwait (Ratification: 1968)

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. Freedom of domestic workers to terminate their employment. For a number of years, the Committee has been drawing the Government’s attention to the exclusion of migrant domestic workers from the protection of the Labour Code, and has requested the Government to take the necessary measures to adopt a protective framework of employment relations that is specifically tailored to the difficult circumstances faced by this category of workers. In this regard, the Committee previously noted the adoption of a certain number of decrees and ministerial decisions, including Ministerial Decision No. 617/1992 regulating the rules and procedures for obtaining licences for the private recruitment agencies supplying domestic workers and similar workers, as well as Ministerial Decision No. 1182/2010, which defines the rights and obligations of each party in the recruitment contract (the agency, the employer, the employee). The Committee further noted that in their communications the Confederation of Indonesia Prosperity Trade Union (KSBSI) and the Indonesia Migrant Worker Union (SBMI) alleged that more than 660,000 foreign domestic workers from Asia and Africa work in Kuwait. They also indicated that embassies of labour-sending countries in Kuwait were receiving several complaints from domestic workers about non-payment of wages, excessively long working hours without rest, and physical, sexual and psychological abuse. Domestic workers had few avenues of redress, as they were excluded from the labour law and the immigration laws prohibited them from leaving or changing jobs without their employer’s consent. In this regard, the Committee took note of the adoption in 2015 of Law No. 68/2015 on Employment of Domestic Workers, which provides for the respective obligations of the employer and the worker, particularly with regard to the model contract (hours of work, remuneration and rest time, as well as holidays). The Committee noted that the Law expressly prohibits passport confiscation by the employer (sections 12 and 22). The Committee requested the Government to provide information on the application in practice of Law No. 68/2015.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that, the number of complaints submitted by employers to the Department of Domestic Labour reached 346 in 2018 (compared to 1,768 in 2017), whereas 73 complaints were submitted by migrant domestic workers (compared to 388 in 2017). The Government also adds that 108 cases were referred to the competent court, and that in 2018, migrant domestic workers were compensated the amount of 2,560 Kuwaiti dinars (US$8,400) as back-salary and other entitlements. Regarding the termination of employment, the Committee also notes that the contract between the employer and the domestic worker is concluded for a period of two years and can be renewed for a similar period, unless one of the two parties notifies the other at least two months before the end of the two-year contract. Upon termination of the contract between the domestic worker and the employer, the employer must pay the domestic worker all of her/his entitlements as set forth in the contract and stipulated in this law. The contract may be renewed automatically if neither of the two parties expresses her/his wish to not renew the contract at least two months before the end of the contract. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to ensure that the provisions of Law No. 68/2015 are effectively applied and enforced. The Committee also requests the Government to continue to provide statistical information on the number of domestic workers who have filed complaints with the Domestic Labour Department and the outcome of such complaints. With regard to the right of domestic workers to freely terminate their employment, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the modalities and the length of the procedure for changing an employer for migrant domestic workers, including statistical information on the number of transfers that have occurred recently.

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25. Trafficking in persons. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the adoption of Law No. 91 of 2013 on Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants. It noted that the Law provides for penalties for offences related to trafficking in persons for both sexual and labour exploitation (15 years and a fine). With regard to the penal sanctions imposed for the exaction of forced labour, the Committee noted that the enslavement, purchase or offering of a person is punishable by a term of five years of imprisonment and a fine (section 185 of the Penal Code). The Committee requested the Government to provide information on the application in practice of Law No. 91 of 2013 on Trafficking in Persons.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that within the Public Prosecutor’s Office, a specialized Anti-Trafficking Unit has been set up to expedite cases of trafficking. The Government also indicates that the Anti-Trafficking Unit has taken a series of measures regarding the protection of victims of trafficking, including coordination with the relevant institutions in order to provide medical and psychological care and the provision of legal assistance, including access to file formal grievances.

The Committee also notes that in its concluding observations of 27 November 2017, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) of the United Nations welcomed the legal and institutional measures taken by the State party to counter trafficking in persons, including efforts to investigate cases and prosecute perpetrators. However, it is concerned about the low number of prosecutions, convictions and sentences imposed under Act No. 91 of 2013 on Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants (CEDAW/C/KWT/CO/5 paragraph 28). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken by the Anti-Trafficking Unit for victims of trafficking, as well as the results achieved, including information on the number of trafficked persons who have benefited from the Unit’s services. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the number of investigations and prosecutions carried out, and the penalties applied in cases of trafficking in persons, both for purposes of sexual and labour exploitation.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.