The Indian Ambassador to Kuwait, H E Sibi George, revealed his efforts to reduce the cost of bringing Indian domestic workers to Kuwait. He revealed he is in the process of discussing this issue with the Public Authority for Manpower, Arabic paper Al Qabas reported.
In a statement issued on the sidelines of the Onam celebration – one of the important festivals in Kerala, the ambassador indicated the price of bringing Indian domestic workers to Kuwait has reached KD 900 “From my point of view this is an exaggerated figure,” he said.
He pointed out the cost of procedures for obtaining what he called a trained domestic worker from India to Kuwait does not exceed 30,000 rupees, which is equivalent to around KD 100 which is a simple fee. He wonders why this exaggerated increase? “Where does the rest of the money go?”, he added.
He called for reconsideration of this exaggerated cost, stressing on the need to reduce the prices of bringing Indian domestic workers to contribute to bringing the largest number of them to Kuwait.
He added: “I do not want the Kuwaiti citizen to pay large sums to bring domestic workers from India, and they must be helped in reducing the amount and help a large number of Indians to work in Kuwait.”
He pointed out the two countries have signed a memorandum of understanding to bring in labor, and part of this agreement is to reduce the fees for bringing domestic workers to Kuwait.
He said he hopes for the success of negotiations in this regard, especially since this matter receives great attention from him.
He concluded by saying, “There is no domestic labor office in India which charges more than 30,000 rupees fees, and if “I discover that any of the offices does contrary to what I say, I am ready to cancel the office’s license immediately.”
Meanwhile, the ambassador praised the decision taken by Kuwait to operate direct flights between Kuwait and India which were stopped following the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, considering it a positive step and a good development that can help Indians and Kuwaitis to move smoothly, especially since many Indians are stranded in India and anxious to return to Kuwait.