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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 001021 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA/ARP 
G/TIP FOR PATEL, DRL FOR ANZALDUA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2018 
TAGS: PGOV SOCI ELAB KTIP KU
SUBJECT: LABOR ISSUES REMAIN AT THE FORE IN KUWAITI 
DISCUSSIONS 
 
REF: A. KUWAIT 954 
     ¶B. KUWAIT 864 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor Peter O'Donohue for reasons 1.4 b an 
d d 
 
Summary 
--------- 
 
¶1.  (C) Since an outbreak of violent labor strikes in late 
July, Kuwaiti officialdom and the media have continued to 
scrutinize TIP and labor issues.  The GOK appears to be 
leveraging a 'law and order' approach to violent strikers, 
including the planned deportation of thousands of 
undocumented workers, against much needed reforms in law and 
practice, so as to redeem the country's image.  Sporadic 
strikes continue, though none has been as violent as those 
that took place in July.  There have been no further mass 
deportations of laborers, but some 5000 illegals currently 
await probable deportation.  While these matters continue to 
garner media and governmental attention, the GOK's response 
to the issue has been to: 
 
-- threaten to identify publicly Kuwaiti companies and 
nationals engaged in "visa trading" and other labor 
violations; 
-- hold a special one-day parliamentary session to address 
the labor issue and to spell out recommendations for action; 
-- deport individuals illegally residing in the country. 
 
While the present Ramadan season has prevented the GOK and 
parliament from tackling the labor issue head on, we 
anticipate it will be at the forefront of the agenda when the 
National Assembly reconvenes in late October.  End Summary. 
 
MPs Use Issue as a Stick to Beat the GOK 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) In response to public outcry and demand by many MPs, 
a special session of the National Assembly was held September 
10 to lambaste the GOK over the recent labor riots and 
ongoing TIP concerns.  Though taking care to address the 
labor issue from both a security and a human rights angle, 
the MPs clearly relished using the session to embarrass the 
government by accusing it of inaction and demanding that it 
expose official Kuwaitis involved in visa trading and other 
labor abuses.  The MPs particularly targetted the Ministry of 
Social Affairs and Labor (MOSAL), alleging that some of its 
officials were complicit with visa traders. Salafi Islamic 
Grouping,s MP Khalid Sultan told MOSAL Minister Bader 
Al-Duwaila "If you fight corruption in your ministry, we,ll 
support you."  But he and other MPs made clear that they 
would be eager to press the attack on MOSAL if it failed to 
clean house.  (Note:  There have also been allegations making 
the rounds that the Minister of Communications, who 
reportedly owns a cleaning company that employes Bangladeshis 
and is close to the Prime Minister, was involved in labor 
abuse.  End Note.) 
 
Us Versus Them 
--------------- 
 
¶3.  (C) Not all MPs demonstrated a paramount concern for the 
rights of laborers.  Playing to Kuwaiti xenophobes, some MPs 
grandstanded to their constituencies, painting the laborers 
-- notably the Bangladeshis -- as overly numerous and too 
prone to engage in criminality.  Among other attributes, some 
MPs accused Bangladeshis and other foreigners of running 
brothels, smuggling drugs, engaging in theft and being 
"carriers of disease."  (Note: A commonly held stereotype and 
one earlier conveyed to Ambassador by the Kuwait State 
Security Director during a July meeting following the release 
of the TIP Report.  End Note).  Also, in an attempt to 
instill fear in the populace, Islamic Constitutional 
Movement's Jam'an Al-Hirbish alleged that many of the 40,000 
Iranian workers are spies for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard 
Corps (IRGC). 
 
GOK Refuses to Name Violators 
---------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (C) In an intervention on behalf of the GOK, MOSAL 
Minister Al-Duwaila acknowledged two problems that define 
labor issues in Kuwait:  low, late, or unpaid salaries; and 
poor, unsafe working and/or living conditions. To the 
disappointment of the MPs, Al-Duwaila declined to identify 
publicly those under scrutiny for trafficking or labor 
 
KUWAIT 00001021  002 OF 003 
 
 
violations, suggesting that doing so would jeopardize ongoing 
investigations.  (Note: It is significant that MPs were 
seized with the issue of labor abuse even during the normally 
soporific holy month of Ramadan. Their fervor suggests that 
they feel they have found a government weak spot. The true 
test of their commitment to making real progress on the issue 
will come after Eid and when Parliament reconvenes in 
October.) 
 
Session Produces Ideas, But Not Much Action 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) The September 10 session concluded with 38 
recommendations from the National Assembly to the GOK.  The 
principal recommendations included a proposal to build "labor 
cities" that comply with international safety and security 
standards, limiting the numbers of particular nationalities 
allowed to work in Kuwait, and increasing the scrutiny of 
companies that win government contracts.  Since the session, 
there has been little movement on these recommendations, 
which were met with skepticism by the press and public. 
Meanwhile, sporadic and limited strikes, arrests and 
deportations of laborers declared as illegal residents have 
continued. 
 
Ministry of Interior Cracks Down on Visa Traders 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶6.  (C) One area where the GOK has stepped up its activity is 
in blacklisting abusive labor importers.  In recent months, 
200 Kuwaiti individuals and 40 companies (names not yet made 
public) reportedly have been blacklisted from sponsoring 
laborers and domestic workers.  Under Kuwaiti law, those 
laborers who entered Kuwait under the sponsorship of 
blacklisted employers are now potentially exposed to being 
identified as illegal residents.  The pool of laborers who 
are, for one reason or another, considered illegal is 
significant.  Arabic Daily Al-Watan reported September 21 
that a Ministry of Interior crackdown recently netted over 
5,000 illegal residents, who are now awaiting deportation. 
 
Roles of GOK Ministries 
----------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) MOSAL and the Ministry of the Interior are the 
primary actors in combating TIP and labor abuses.  In MOSAL's 
capacity of dealing with general, or non-domestic labor, it 
issues work permits, inspects work sites, assesses labor 
requirements, passes labor importation and foreign labor 
employment regulations, enforces labor laws, and adjudicates 
complaints and strikes, inter alia.  Of the total population 
of approximately 3.1 million, recent GOK estimates put the 
current number of foreign workers in Kuwait at 1,208,156.  Of 
this number, only 103,672 are employed by the government; the 
balance work in the private sector.  Foreign workers in 
Kuwait are governed under the Private Sector Labor law.  This 
segment of the population does not include the 544,329 
domestic workers, i.e. household maids, gardeners, nannies, 
and drivers, who are covered by the Ministry of Interior's 
Immigration and Domestic Labor Department.  There is no 
statute that governs or regulates domestic employment.  The 
relationship between the employee and employer is governed by 
a contract between the two parties.  Recent editorials in the 
Kuwaiti press suggest that at least some segments of Kuwaiti 
society are aware of and sympathetic to the plight of abused 
domestic workers. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶8.  (C) While Kuwaitis continue to decry labor abuses, action 
has been limited at best to protect laborers from their 
exposure to poor treatment, little to no payment, and harsh 
living/working conditions.  It is significant, though, that 
the issue remains a topic for debate both in the press and 
among parliamentarians.  A number of commentators have called 
for genuine reform of the labor sponsorship system in order 
to undo the damage to Kuwait's image resulting from the 
well-documented abuses.  That this awareness and public 
discussion has remained at high volume during the normally 
slow Ramadan season is encouraging and suggests the 
possibility that the GOK will tackle labor issues more 
decisively when the National Assembly reconvenes at the end 
of October.  End comment. 
 
********************************************* * 
For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: 
 
KUWAIT 00001021  003 OF 003 
 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s 
 
Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ 
********************************************* * 
JONES