Kuwait to get rid of kefala system 27, September 2010
Posted by thegulfblog.com in Kuwait.Tags: Domestic workers Kuwait, Gulf workers rights, human rights, Human rights Gulf, Kafala system, Sponsorship system, Sponsorship system kuwait, Sponsorship system kuwait ends, Worker's rights
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Kuwait is to get rid of its kafala sponsorship system for hiring foreign workers. The kafala system operates by making foreign workers use a local sponsor. This, in conjunction, with a wide-spread ethos that sees domestic servants, drivers and nannies as property and not as human beings, has led to decades of atrocious human rights abuses not only in Kuwait but throughout the Gulf.
It is hoped that this will make it easier for workers to change jobs as opposed to previously when this was practically impossible either legally or because the previous employer held the worker’s passport. The kefala system has – with very good reason – been described as modern-day slavery. However, while obviously a step in the right direction, clearly, this will not be a panacea to continued human rights abuses in Kuwait: culture cannot change overnight.
Bahrain got rid of its kefala system in 2009, much to the anger of its business community. Kuwait authorities said that they were scrapping this system “as a gift to foreign workers on the anniversary of Kuwait’s liberation.”
The other Gulf countries still practice the kafala system.
Dubai police chief: ‘end sponsorship” 25, June 2009
Posted by thegulfblog.com in Bahrain, The Emirates.Tags: Dubai, Emirates, Gulf workers, Kafala system, Migrant workers, Worker's rights
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Dubai’s Chief of Police has called for the ‘old’ and ‘outdated’ system of sponsorship that is responsible for the country’s legion of foreign workers to go. The kafala system, as it is known, is widely seen as one of the prime causes of the systematic abuses that are found with migrate workers throughout the Gulf. Under the current system workers are contractually as well as effectively tied to one employer whose job it is to hire workers from abroad, process their paperwork, arrange their accommodation and medical insurance. This has led to wide-spread abuses with employers seeking to cut costs where ever they can often to the detriment of living and pay conditions. Additionally, employers usually and illegally confiscate employees’ passports so can not move on.
The Chief’s comments do not come, however, from a humanitarian stand point. Indeed, he sees the current system as simply being a burden for Emirati employers. No changes are expected it the near future.
Bahrain was the first state that mooted changes to this system a month ago. However, the Bahrain business lobby soon set about reducing any changes to the bare minimum. It remains to be seen what, if any, changes will come out of the other end of this process.
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