Kuwait eyes revitalizing domestic labor market with law reforms
Observers argue that the first step to reforming the domestic labor market is reviewing Kuwait’s 2015 law, particularly Article 17, to shorten the six-month sponsorship period to three months in line with international standards and current global trends.
• Bassam Al-Shammari praised minister Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef’s decision to allow domestic workers’ transfer to the private sector and emphasized the need to lift restrictions on expatriate workers across all sectors to boost Kuwait’s labor market and economic vision.
Amid a series of corrective measures taken by Sheikh Fahad Al-Youssef, First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, and Minister of Interior, to address issues in the private sector labor market—most recently the annulment of the ‘60-year’ decision—the domestic labor market urgently requires similar reforms to revive it, the Al Jarida newspaper reported.
This follows a prolonged stagnation that began with the COVID-19 pandemic and persists today, with no significant improvements or comprehensive solutions to the ongoing challenges in this vital sector.
Observers of the labor market believe that “the first steps to reform this sector lie in reviewing the provisions of the current law No. 68/2015 regarding domestic workers, especially considering that ten years have passed since its issuance and enactment. This highlights the need for radical amendments to some of its provisions to ensure it aligns with the current global ‘awakening’ across all sectors, particularly in the recruitment and employment of workers.”
They emphasize that the most important article to review is Article 17 of the aforementioned law, concerning the duration of sponsorship for domestic workers. This article stipulates that “the office guarantees the worker’s continuity in work for six months, during which time it must return the worker to their country and refund the amounts received from the employer.”
Observers stress the need to reduce this period to three months (90 days) instead of six, as is the case under the private sector labor law, especially since three months is internationally recognized.
They argue that “reducing this period would positively impact the domestic labor market, ensuring greater stability, as it allows workers to feel secure with their employer, without the threat of being returned to their country after 180 days if the sponsor rejects them. It would also have a positive effect on local recruitment companies and offices, speeding up the process of bringing in new workers.”
Urgent call to expand MoUs and support daily or monthly domestic worker employment
Bassam Al-Shammari, a specialist in domestic labor affairs, called on minister Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef to instruct the “Labor Force” to accelerate the signing of memoranda of understanding with new countries that export domestic workers, to address any shortages expected due to the expiration of hundreds of contracts. These workers may wish to end their contracts and return to their countries.
Al-Shammari emphasized the urgent need to increase memoranda of understanding and support activities for employing domestic workers on daily or monthly terms.
He added that, “Despite slight improvements in this area, there is now an urgent need to develop a new mechanism to quickly resolve labor disputes and ensure the protection of the financial and moral rights of these workers before they leave the country, including paid annual leave, end-of-service bonuses, weekly leave, and establishing a set number of daily working hours.”
Call to open transfer of expatriate workers across sectors without restrictions
While Al-Shammari praised the “wise decision” of Minister Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef, who allowed the transfer of domestic workers to the private sector under specific conditions, he emphasized the importance of opening the door for the transfer of expatriate workers across all sectors without restrictive or prohibitive conditions. This would help restore balance to the labor market, renew its activity, and support Kuwait’s vision of becoming a global financial and commercial hub.
He called on minister Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef to open the door for permanent transfers of domestic workers to the private sector, similar to neighboring countries, to address the worker shortage.
He added that “the key benefits of opening the transfer door include reducing the phenomenon of thousands of domestic workers migrating to the private sector and decreasing labor disputes for hundreds of workers, which would help reduce pressure on the Public Authority for Manpower’s expatriate labor shelter.”
