KUWAIT CITY, May 21: With the advent of the holy month of Ramadan, and despite the parliamentary endorsement of domestic workers law and establishment of a company since last June to bring in domestic workers, some recruitment offices have increased the cost of acquiring a domestic worker to roughly KD 1,500 amid the absence of a monitoring agency in the country.

Several citizens and expatriates complain of some domestic recruitment offices taking advantage of the need of domestic workers in the month of Ramadan to increase prices, indicating the cost of acquiring the services of a domestic worker from Philippines or India ranges between KD 1,300 and 1,500, while their new salaries range from KD 120 and KD 150.

They also mentioned that “the cost of bringing in Asian domestic workers from other countries besides Philippines and India has reached KD 1,200, whereas the cost of domestic workers from African countries is currently KD 1,000”.

They wondered about the reason for implementation of the domestic workers law and establishment of the company in charge of their recruitment delaying for a year since the two laws were endorsed by parliament