KCCI abhors human trading, calls for harshest penalties

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Coronavirus exposed phenomenon of visa trafficking: Al-Saqer

KUWAIT CITY, April 25: Head of Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Mohammed Jassem Al- Al-Saqer says the phenomenon of marginal migrant workers is not new, as it dates back to more than 30 years, reports Al- Seyassah daily.

In a press conference on human trafficking and visa trading, he stressed that this phenomenon has increased in size, seriousness and popularity throughout these years due to the huge illegal profits that are shared among those who have been mistakenly identified as “visa traders” by those who facilitate human trafficking for them and protect them in the eyes of the law.

Al-Saqer said, “The coronavirus crisis did not create this phenomenon, as it existed prior to the crisis and was known to all. However, the crisis exposed this problem in the most bizarre manner as well as the depth of its risks, the extent of its network, the scope of its size, and the high number of its victims. As a result, it should not come as a surprise if the popular reaction is so broad and unanimous in the scale of injustice and anger”.

He highlighted that KCCI “salutes everyone who contributes in alerting about the severe harm that this phenomenon causes to Kuwait’s security, economy and society as well as its international reputation, and its health and educational systems. They absolutely reject the material and moral injustices suffered by the victims”.

Al-Saqer affirmed KCCI’s stance, which is firm against this kind of human trafficking and its perpetrators, adding that KCCI demands punishing the perpetrators with the harshest penalties consistent with the gravity of the crime and within the framework of all relevant laws and procedures.

He said, “KCCI’s stance does not end there. It aims to employ this wave of conscious public anger to develop radical solutions for eliminating this phenomenon once and for all by drying up its forbidden resources from its source”.

Al-Saqer called for the speedy elimination of this phenomenon in light of the following facts:
■ There are no reliable statistics available on the volume of marginal foreign workers, which constitute the basic root for the phenomenon of “exploitation of the residency system in Kuwait”.
It is worth mentioning that the expatriate population in Jleeb Al- Shuyoukh and Mahboula areas where this labor force is concentrated reached more than 513,000 people as of end of September 2019.

This includes 372,000 Asians and 141,000 Arabs. Consequently, the size of the phenomenon involves not less than 400,000 migrant workers, or 23 percent of the total number of migrant workers except for domestic workers.

■ The marginal migrant workers are divided into three groups – The first group of workers has valid residency and valid employment contract, but their rights are not systematically honored. The second group of workers is those who work in accordance with the opportunities that are available on a daily basis.

They do not work for the dummy companies that brought them from overseas and sold to them visas for large sums, but they have to pay these companies annual fees for the renewal of their visa. The third group of workers is those who do not carry valid residence permits, do not have fixed jobs, and have not mastered a profession or craft suitable for daily hustle.

■ An indication of the persistent increase of this phenomenon of foreign marginal employment for more than three decades is that the services of these workers enjoy real demand in the Kuwaiti labor market. It is true that this demand is unstable, continuous or regular, but it certainly exists.

This is because this employment meets the needs of companies and small institutions that support the work of contracting companies which cannot afford fixed labor costs (salaries, vacations, compensation, etc). It also caters to the needs of a wide segment of the population in maintenance and repair work. It is worth noting that the services of such labor are cheap by all standards.

■ The search for solutions to completely eliminate the phenomenon of “visa trading” must be within the framework of correcting the employment structure and demography in the country on one hand, and within the framework of employing technical progress to the maximum extent possible on the other.

■ The elimination of this phenomenon requires a serious and urgent reconsideration of the current sponsor system and its development in order to differentiate between highly-educated and highly specialized expatriate workers – whose positions can be gradually replaced by citizens in the foreseeable future – and the expatriate labor force that provide services that are not expected to be undertaken and accepted by citizens sufficiently in the near future.

■ It is well established fact that those who practice the residency business and exploitation of marginal migrant workers are companies and individuals that are either fictitious companies established for this purpose alone or individuals whose official positions allow them to practice or facilitate this trade and such exploitation. Therefore, eliminating this phenomenon necessarily requires punishing both types of people within the framework of legal justice and its procedures.

Al-Sager affirmed that KCCI appreciates the firm response of His Highness the Prime Minister against this phenomenon as well as the swift and bold steps taken in this regard by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, highlighting that the State Minister for Economic Affairs emphasized the lack of complacency in taking legal measures against violators irrespective of their positions and statutes.

He said KCCI hopes that everyone will be deemed equal before the eyes of the law without any favoritism or exception, adding, “Rapid, severe, and fair legal punishment is an indisputable and uncompromising necessity.

However, we must mention that punishments alone cannot necessarily eliminate this phenomenon as it must be accompanied by the policies and procedures to drain the illegal profit from exploiting the pain of human beings and from harming the interests of the nation.”

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