The negative repercussions of the decision issued by the Ministry of Commerce to limit the costs of recruiting domestic workers to no more than 890 dinars, including the travel ticket and the PCR test, continues to cast a shadow on the market, in the midst of confusion that threatens to stop the entire recruitment system, and which prompted a group of office owners to meet the Minister of Commerce and Industry Fahd Al-Shariaan, and put in front of him what they call “the dangerous repercussions of the decision”, saying the offices have been making no profits over the past two years.
The specialist in domestic employment affairs and owner of a domestic labor recruitment company, Bassam Al-Shammari, said during the meeting they clarified the danger of continuing the decision in its current form, which would create a black market outside the official and legal framework, so that local and foreign recruitment agencies could compensate for their losses due to the low cost specified by the state, reports a local Arabic daily.
Al-Shammari explained to the daily that the representatives of the offices presented the minister with a comparison between the prices and costs of recruiting domestic workers in Kuwait and some neighboring countries, which was nearly 2,000 dinars, while the Ministry of Commerce set the cost at 890 dinars, “without informing us of a study about the costs on which this decision was taken.”
He pointed out that the cost of recruiting some nationalities of domestic workers ranges between 800 and 900 dinars (travel ticket cost not included) and wondered how these offices can complete their work in light of the decision that set a low cost that incurred losses and prompted us to shut our business.
He stated, “the minister was understanding of our complaint, and demanded that we prepare a comprehensive and detailed study explaining the costs of recruitment, including a comparison between prices in Kuwait and neighboring countries, and submitting it to him for study, research and to issue a decision accordingly.
He added “the office owners who attended the meeting conveyed to the minister their suffering and the tension that occurs on a daily basis between them and those who want to use domestic labor services,” stressing that the market is currently suffering from a noticeable increase in labor disputes between workers and their employers, a large number of whom have demanded the termination of the contract formula and the recovery of recruitment costs. This weakens the offices and affects the system in general.
Al-Shammari expects a domestic labor shortage crisis during the next three months, due to the large number of current problems, which lead to the reluctance of workers to come to Kuwait, as well as the continuation of the ill-considered decision by the Commerce Ministry to determine the cost of recruitment.
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