VZCZCXRO8516
RR RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHKU #0954/01 2531209
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 091209Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2080
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 0411

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000954 
 
SIPDIS 
 
G/TIP FOR PATEL, DRL FOR ANZALDUA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/04/2018 
TAGS: PGOV SOCI ELAB KTIP KU
SUBJECT: KUWAIT: SOUL-SEARCHING ON LABOR ABUSES 
 
REF: KUWAIT 864 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Deborah K. Jones for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY.  Stung by international media attention to 
widespread labor abuses by Kuwaiti contractors, the GOK 
continues to discuss and investigate TIP-related issues and 
promises significant action.  Domestic media continue to 
provide wide coverage of the issues.  Recent developments 
include numerous investigations by government and 
parliamentary committees into "visa trading" and labor law 
violations, the resignation of the Assistant Undersecretary 
for Labor Affairs at the Ministry of Social Affairs and 
Labor, and continued work by the GOK's human rights committee 
to fine-tune draft anti-TIP legislation.  A special 
parliamentary session to discuss expatriate labor will be 
held on September 10.  GOK officials claim they are trying 
hard to work with representatives from labor-sending 
countries' embassies to resolve issues but that some are 
uncooperative and difficult to deal with.  Bangladesh's 
Foreign Minister visited September 3-4 and told journalists 
"if the GOK does what it has promised to do, we will have no 
complaints."  The summer hiatus and observance of Ramadan 
make it unlikely that concrete progress will be achieved 
before Parliament reconvenes on October 26.  END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
CONTINUED WORK ON AND COVERAGE OF TIP AND LABOR ISSUES 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶2.  (C) Kuwaiti press reporting of TIP and labor issues has 
reached a crescendo in recent weeks, reflecting a general 
sense of embarrassment over egregious labor abuses and 
security concerns triggered by brief episodes of violent 
rioting of unpaid workers.  One area of media focus has been 
the investigations by several governmental and parliamentary 
committees into alleged "visa trading" and labor law 
violations.  Reports of these committees will be submitted to 
the Council of Ministers and the National Assembly when they 
reconvene in late October.  A promise by Minister of Social 
Affairs and Labor, Bader Fahd Al-Duwaila, that "no one will 
be above the law" in this matter has generated particular 
interest since at least one other Cabinet member reportedly 
owns a major cleaning company on the side that employs (and 
exploits) expat laborers.  On August 30, Dr. Saleh Al-Sheik, 
Assistant Undersecretary for Labor Affairs at the Ministry of 
Social Affairs and Labor, submitted his resignation to the 
minister amidst widespreasd press speculation about his 
involvement in "visa trading."  (Note: The ministry 
attributed his resignation to poor health. End note.) 
Demonstrating how inflammatory this issue has become, 35 MPs 
voted on September 3 to hold a special parliamentary session 
on September 10 to discuss abuses of expatriate labor.  Five 
MPs have also proposed their own anti-TIP legislation. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
GOK TO PROPOSE AMENDMENTS TO DRAFT ANTI-TIP LEGISLATION AND 
PLANS AWARENESS CAMPAIGN 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
 
¶3.  (C) The GOK is finalizing amendments to the current draft 
anti-TIP legislation already passed by the Council of 
Ministers (COM), according to Dr. Mohammed Al-Ansari, 
Assistant Undersecretary for Legal Affairs and International 
Relations at the Ministry of Justice.  During a meeting 
August 28, Al-Ansari told Emboffs that the GOK will propose 
amendments to the draft legislation based on international 
standards and a review of the United Arab Emirate's anti-TIP 
legislation.  Al-Ansari, a member of the GOK's Human Rights 
Committee (HRC), advised that the amendments to the draft 
legislation and ongoing labor issues in the wake of the labor 
strikes that occurred in July (reftel) will be the main 
topics on the agenda for the next HRC meeting.  The proposed 
amendments, together with findings from the HRC's 
subcommittees investigating labor violations, will be 
submitted to the COM for review in the next month.  Al-Ansari 
revealed that the GOK has plans to launch a coordinated 
awareness campaign on TIP/labor issues after the next HRC 
meeting (which likely will take place in October after 
Ramadan).  He added that Kuwait will participate in a human 
rights conference to be sponsored by the Arab League 
scheduled to be held in Doha in December. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
GOK COMPLAINS OF NON-COOPERATION FROM BANGLADESH 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶4.  (C) During a September 2 meeting with Colonel Saleh 
Al-Asfour, Director of the Investigation and Follow-up Office 
in the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Interior 
 
KUWAIT 00000954  002 OF 002 
 
 
(MOI), Al-Asfour stated that Kuwait seeks to improve its 
image in the international community and resolve its TIP and 
labor issues.  According to Al-Asfour, his office has direct 
daily contact with staff from the major labor-sending 
countries' embassies.  He noted that as recently as two 
months ago, he and the Assistant Secretary of the MOI held 
meetings with the ambassadors from each of these embassies 
and discussed issues and ways in which to improve 
cooperation.  He asserted that his office has good 
relationships with all the embassies, but complained that the 
Bangladeshi embassy in particular was not cooperative and 
could be difficult to deal with.  As an example, he told 
PolCouns that his office currently had 35 Bangladeshis in 
custody, had repeatedly informed the Bangladeshi embassy of 
this situation and requested their involvement, but received 
no response.  Col. Al-Asfour complained that the Bangladeshis 
are generally uncooperative in providing support for their 
citizens or in making available necessary travel documents to 
his office so they could transfer the individuals to the 
deportation center.  He openly stated that the Bangladeshi 
laborers in Kuwait were the most troublesome of expatriates, 
responsible for all kinds of nefarious activities including 
prostitution and illegal international call centers. 
 
¶5.  (C) Subsequent to this meeting, the Foreign Minister of 
Bangladesh visited Kuwait on September 3-4 specifically to 
address this issue.  In a meeting the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs characterized as "extremely cordial", the two sides 
reportedly agreed that each could do more to address these 
problems.  In a subsequent press interview, the FM remarked 
that if all the recent conditions laid down by the Ministry 
of Social Affairs and Labor are implemented then there should 
be no room for grievances from the workers.  He added that 
the Government of Bangladesh would begin to screen laborers 
to ensure that "only good people are sent abroad." The FM 
also pointed out that the 40 KD per month minimum wage 
(approximately USD 150) was not sufficient given the high 
cost of living and the increase in food prices. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶6.  (C) The release of the Department's TIP report in June 
and the subsequent labor strikes in July (reftel) have 
generated unprecedented focus on TIP issues and momentum in 
the GOK's handling of long-standing concerns.  Due to the 
summer hiatus and the observance of Ramadan, it is unlikely 
that any significant progress will be made before October 26 
when the National Assembly reconvenes.  The increased 
awareness and extraordinary volume of public discussion of 
this issue is encouraging, however, and suggests that 
momentum may be building which will force the GOK to deal 
with labor abuses in a more coherent and systematic manner. 
 
********************************************* * 
For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s 
 
Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ 
********************************************* * 
JONES