Sponsorship system to be scrapped soon KUWAIT: The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MSAL) is expected soon to establish the Public Authority for Labor Affairs, as the first step towards canceling the sponsorship system for private sector labor force, a local daily reported yesterday, quoting ministry insiders. The parliament last month passed a bill to set up the authority, two years after the enforcement of the private sector’s labor law in 2010. The authority will handle the files of the entire labor force in the private sector, effectively ending the employer sponsorship system in a state where expatriates make up 68 percent of the population. “The delay was caused by political circumstances, as well as the fact that the law needed amendments with regard to the authority being affiliated to the ministry instead of being independent,” said the sources, who spoke to Al-Watan on the condition of anonymity. They further explained the law needed some terminology changes “to meet international standards.” For instance, the sources added, the word “sponsor” needed to be replaced with “employer”, and the term “expatriate labor” needed to be changed to “foreign workers.” After the sponsorship system is canceled, the authority will handle all matters pertaining to private sector employees, including recruitment of expatriate labor forces and managing their relationship with their employers. “The sponsorship system will be replaced with an alternative system that allows the MSAL to be responsible for expatriate labor forces,” the sources explained. They also stated that the new system would “significantly help” efforts to fight visa trafficking as it would prevent job providers from issuing work permits they can sell to workers. According to the sources, establishing the Public Authority for Labor Affairs is currently “a top priority” for the ministry, which has already prepared a list of candidates to be hired – one general director and three deputies. The sponsorship or “kafala” system contains loopholes that are often used by visa traffickers to issue work permits through fake companies or nonexistent job openings before selling them to unskilled laborers seeking work opportunities in the oil-rich Gulf region. Human right violations resulting from these practices have drawn criticism from international organizations in the past few years. There are nearly 90,000 people living illegally in Kuwait, according to official figures. Earlier, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Thekra Al- Rashidi had identified “marginal laborers” as the target of a plan announced last March to deport 100,000 foreigners each year, as part of efforts to reduce the country’s expatriate population by one million in 10 years. The 2.6 million expatriates in Kuwait account for 68 percent of the country’s total population of 3.8 million. Marginal laborers are those who usually accept menial jobs, often live without valid visas and, in most cases, are victims of visa traffickers.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:09:28 +0000
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