Abolishing ‘kafala’ system

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As an employer of hundreds of expatriate workers, I am supposed to benefit, silently from the current system, which means that the expatriate comes to Kuwait to work at my invitation, and often he cannot work for any other sponsor during a specific period without my consent or approval of the concerned authorities.

However, I am unhappy with this exploitative system, which is in my interest. If I assume that I treat my people in a humane manner, then what guarantees that the rest of the expatriates, who make up two-thirds of the country’s populations and their number exceeds to three million workers receive fair and human treatment from their employers?

Saudi Arabia, in its new era, has decided to ease contractual restrictions between the worker or employee and the Saudi employer whether a company or an individual with effect from the middle of next March.

This means, the elimination of human traffickers largely and automatically. In the Kingdom there are ten million expatriates, and a large part of them entered Saudi Arabia after paying a considerable amount to an influential person in exchange for doing nothing and this is what we do, often in the rest of the Gulf countries.

There is no doubt that there are loopholes that will appear in the new system, which require speedy dealing with them, so it is not logical for the citizen, and even the expatriate business owner or partner in a company to associate with certain workers to come to Kuwait to implement a project or do something, and spend on their arrival and their livelihood, and then they subsequently, for one reason or another, request to move to work for a company or other entity. Who will compensate those who brought them in exchange for one year or more contracts?

On the other hand, it is necessary to give an expatriate, especially one who has spent two years or more, for example, in Kuwait the right to move from one job to another. This is a right attached to him as a person and it is not right to force him to work or associate with an employer who does not deserve his services.

Therefore, the implementation of this system in Kuwait will have several positive aspects, and it is important to think early and study the Saudi experience and the resulting loopholes and address them, and issue a law that suits our circumstances.”

e-mail: [email protected]

By Ahmad alsarraf

This news has been read 17675 times!

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