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INFO RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI PRIORITY 0987
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO PRIORITY 8605
RUEHDO/AMEMBASSY DOHA PRIORITY 0231
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 2335
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RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 0391
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI PRIORITY 0872
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA PRIORITY 1448

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 000988 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/16/2018 
TAGS: ELAB KTIP PGOV PREL SOCI BG
SUBJECT: CAUGHT BETWEEN A ROCK AND HARD PLACE: BANGLADESHI 
DEPORTEES FROM KUWAIT. 
 
REF: KUWAIT 954 
 
Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d 
 
Summary 
======== 
¶1.  (C) Following the deportation of nearly 1200 Bangladeshis 
alleged to have participated in violent strikes in Kuwait, 
the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) reacted by sending the 
Foreign Affairs Adviser on an official visit; he encouraged 
the Government of Kuwait (GOK) to compensate the workers. 
The GOB also increased scrutiny of local recruiters.  NGOs 
remain dissatisfied, however, contending that the GOB has not 
acted as quickly or as forcefully as they would have liked. 
Both parties concur that the workers, grievances are 
legitimate.  Though these are encouraging signs, concrete 
progress is still yet to be achieved and the fundamental 
imbalance in the Kuwait-Bangladesh relationship suggests that 
long term change will be slow to come. 
 
Tales of victimization 
====================== 
¶2.  (C) Migrant workers have reiterated to PolOff in recent 
conversations, media reports of mistreatment by employers in 
Kuwait.  Returnees complained of being underpaid, receiving 
no salary increases, irregular payments, long working hours 
and poor living conditions.  Many claimed that they had been 
forced to sign new contracts in Arabic upon their arrival in 
Kuwait.  They also returned home with little or no 
compensation for their time abroad and heavily in debt 
because of the money they had to borrow to go overseas. 
 
¶3.  (C) NGOs also spoke of excessive force used by the police 
in Kuwait and contend that the majority of deported workers 
were residing in Kuwait legally and not involved in the 
violence.  They allege that after the strikes, the Kuwaiti 
security forces carried out mass raids against Bangladeshi 
workers in the middle of the night, targeting them without 
any regard for guilt or innocence. 
 
Finding common ground with Kuwait 
================================= 
¶4.  (C) In a meeting at the Bangladesh Ministry of 
Expatriates, Welfare and Overseas Employment (MEWOE), the 
Joint Secretary agreed that most of the workers, claims were 
legitimate but denied that the Government of Kuwait (GOK) had 
conducted a campaign of mass arrests or that the numbers of 
returnees was alarmingly high.  He stated that only those 
involved in the agitations and others who had overstayed 
their visas had been deported, noting that approximately 
100-200 Bangladeshi workers return from overseas every day. 
(Note: Kuwait is home to roughly 230,000 Bangladeshi workers 
and is the third largest recipient of Bangladeshi migrant 
labor after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.  End 
Note.) 
 
Advocating for workers, cracking down on recruiters 
============================================= ====== 
¶5.  (C) Reflecting on the visit of Foreign Affairs Adviser 
Chowhdury, the Joint Secretary suggested that Chowdhury 
struck a conciliatory tone by asking the GOK to consider 
compensating the deported workers.  The Joint Secretary added 
that the GOB response was reasonable given the circumstances 
and that the Bangladesh Embassy in Kuwait had worked with the 
Ministry to advocate on behalf of the workers.  MEWOE had 
also been in regular contact with the Kuwaiti Embassy in 
Bangladesh.  The Joint Secretary admitted that because 
Bangladesh was a supplier of unskilled labor, it had less 
bargaining power with respect to foreign governments. 
 
¶6.  (C) NGOs report that several arbitration cases against 
Bangladeshi recruiters are also currently pending before the 
Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), a 
department of MEWOE which regulates recruiting agencies.  If 
found guilty of engaging in unfair practices, the companies 
could be forced to refund the entire recruitment fee paid by 
workers.  (Note: workers typically pay a fee of up to $3,500 
to recruiting agencies who secure their job and visa.  End 
note.)  The Joint Secretary also pointed out that in this 
year alone, 30 recruiters had their license suspended and 15 
had it dismissed for illegal recruiting practices, out of a 
total of 772 license holders. 
 
DHAKA 00000988  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
Waiting for results 
=================== 
¶7.  (C)  Local NGOs regard GOB efforts as ¬ enough,8 
arguing that Embassy officials in Kuwait were corrupt and 
ineffective and that the Foreign Affairs Adviser,s visit 
took place well after the problems had occurred.  These 
groups agree that efforts are being made but would like to 
see workers be fully compensated; the groups maintained that 
Bangladesh did have bargaining power given the need for labor 
in the Gulf countries. 
 
Comment 
======= 
¶8.  (C)  Extensive media coverage of the deportees, plight 
and increased focus on TIP issues has led the GOB to take 
action in this matter.  Post will continue to urge the 
government to continue its efforts to redress the grievances 
of these workers and better regulate local recruiters. 
Additionally, USAID/Bangladesh is about to launch a new 
anti-TIP agreement that will work directly with BMET and the 
Government to start tackling these issues.  The GOB clearly 
wants to move forward on this issue but is reluctant to take 
a tougher stance.  Ultimately, Bangladesh,s heavy reliance 
on foreign remittances and its status as an exporter of 
unskilled labor, means that its bargaining position vis--vis 
the Gulf states will be weak. 
Moriarty