The initiative goes further by raising employment standards in Kuwait and reducing the high cost of skilled labor. It encourages competition and limits exploitation, which has previously driven many investors out of the Kuwaiti market. For years, there has been a call for Kuwait to encourage both local and foreign investment and to open its doors to all.
I have written many times about the urgent need to abolish the sponsorship system, which has caused immense suffering for those who have lived in Kuwait for decades and contributed greatly to its society. Today, these workers face exorbitant fees imposed by their sponsors to renew their residency permits.
Everyone knows that domestic workers, drivers, and ordinary laborers often pay their sponsors around KD 400 annually just to renew their permits. Many are left destitute because their sponsors do not provide them with jobs but merely register them under their sponsorship. As a result, these workers are forced to do whatever they can to secure their livelihood. Thousands have mortgaged their homes or sold their possessions to come to Kuwait, having been promised jobs in their chosen fields, only to be confronted by the harsh reality upon arrival.
These are the workers often referred to as “unregistered workers.” In the recent past, a worker’s daily wage was no more than KD 5, but today, it has risen to KD 15. Skilled workers, particularly those in construction, earn between KD 35 and KD 40. Citizens building houses or undertaking other projects are forced to pay such high wages.
The approach seems aimed at driving out investors without offering any viable alternatives. In Kuwait, the deportation prison became so overcrowded at one point that it could no longer accommodate new deportees. The state had to detain violators in holding cells of police stations because the law requires sponsors to pay for the deported worker’s return ticket. Detaining a worker in a police station costs the public treasury at least KD 3,000 per month, while the price of a plane ticket is only KD 60. Despite this, sponsors would delay, either to buy time or to wait until the government covered the cost of the ticket.
During that period, sponsors often tried to clear their records at the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) when nepotism and influence (wasta) controlled government institutions. For these reasons, the majority of Kuwaitis support the decision announced by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef. We hope that the decision will be implemented quickly, as Kuwait needs active economic participation, and this decision will help achieve that goal.
One important point is that the fees paid by residents should not be high, so they do not become a burden on workers, especially given the rising costs of health insurance and other charges, which could undermine the effectiveness of this initiative. We reiterate our thanks to the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef, for this long-awaited corrective step. This measure is no less significant than the decision to cancel the high fees imposed on expatriates over sixty years of age. We witnessed many positive effects on the national economy when that decision was rescinded.
