Kuwait begins process to scrap sponsorship

Kuwait on Sunday began the process of scraping its sponsorship system to allow expats working in the private sector to switch jobs without the consent of their sponsor.

According to a new decree issued by the Minister of Social Affairs and Labour, an expat who has spent three years with a sponsor now has the right to move to another job without his approval.

An employee can also switch to another job after one year if his employer does not oppose the move.

"The move is a first step towards the total abolition of the sponsorship system and aims to put an end to modern-day slavery," said minister Mohammad Al Afassi in comments published by UAE daily Gulf News on Sunday.

"The decision will undoubtedly help remove the misery of the expatriate community who have been suffering, on a daily basis, from repugnant and inhuman attitudes by some companies known for trafficking in humans and for engaging in the sordid business of selling foreign labourers," Al Afassi added.

"The rights of expatriates in Kuwait are a responsibility that I want to, and will, assume fully. I will not rest until I achieve their rights and lift their pains. This decision will be followed by many more that will ensure both the labourers’ dignity and the smooth operations and stability of the labour market," said the minister.

Waleed Al Tabtabai, the head of the human rights parliamentary committee, said the ministerial decision was a positive first step to put an end to trafficking in people and to the existence of marginalized labourers in Kuwait.

Kuwait Trade Union Federation also welcomed the decision to allow expatriates to switch jobs, saying that it would help Kuwait improve its international human rights record.

On August 1, Bahrain became the first country in the Gulf to scrap its sponsorship system.

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