publish time

18/06/2023

author name Arab Times

publish time

18/06/2023

‘Number of requests at recruitment offices doubles’

KUWAIT CITY, June 18: In the absence of alternative recruitment markets for domestic workers, a specialist in domestic labor affairs Bassam Al-Shammari warned of a severe crisis looming in the coming months due to the large and continuous demand for domestic workers, reports Al-Rai daily. In a press statement, Al- Shammari said, “Kuwait’s average need for female domestic workers ranges from 420 thousand to 450 thousand annually.

The average demand for male domestic workers is about 360 thousand. The high demand for male domestic workers is due to urban expansion movement. It is expected that the crisis will appear clearly in the last quarter of this year due to the expiry of most of the contracts of domestic workers in Kuwait, and the possibility of the workers not wanting to renew their contracts for another two years.

At the present time, there is no labor force that is fluent in the English language due to the large demand for it from neighboring countries at values higher than the values specified for their recruitment to Kuwait. The number of requests at labor recruitment offices has doubled significantly this month, with a severe shortage of labor exporting countries.”

Al-Shammari explained that the current status for recruitment of domestic labor from the top labor-exporting countries are as follows:
■ Philippines: Suspension of issuance of new visas.
■ Ethiopia: Suspended and awaiting the signing of the bilateral agreement between the two countries.
■ India: Difficulty in obtaining female domestic workers but easier to get male workers. ■ Indonesia: Suspended since 2008.
■ Nepal: There is no agreement between the two countries, and the recruitment of domestic workers is through India or Dubai.
■ Bangladesh: Suspended.
■ Sri Lanka: Available.