Kenya Among 27 Countries Barred from Supplying Domestic Workers to Kuwait Under New Rules
Kuwaiti authorities say the changes are aimed at strengthening oversight, streamlining labour recruitment procedures and improving protections for workers and employers.
Kenyans lining up for jobs at KICC. Photo/Courtesy
By Emmanuel Kipkorir
Kenya among 27 countries now barred from sending domestic workers to Kuwait after new rules are rolled out, and it kind of depends on how Kuwait is tightening the whole recruitment. Reports says that the Kuwaiti government says the change came in because it wants more control, especially around the domestic labour space, where oversight had been pretty tricky.
So, Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior issued a directive that lays out revised steps for hiring domestic workers, and in the same breath it names which countries are ok to supply workers and which ones are suddenly restricted under the new framework.
On that list of affected places you’ll find Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Angola, Cameroon, Malawi, Chad, Djibouti, Niger, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Equatorial Guinea, the Central African Republic, Togo, Madagascar, Bhutan and a few more.
Kuwaiti authorities say the move is part of wider steps to regulate recruitment, and also to harden administrative controls in the labour sector. They add that the policy was shaped after recommendations from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health, and the Public Authority for Manpower, so it wasn’t just one office deciding alone.
“All recruitment procedures will now be handled through government systems to enhance oversight and improve administrative efficiency,” the Ministry of Interior said.
The circular, meanwhile, has been passed around to residency affairs departments and service centres across Kuwait, and it took effect immediately once it was implemented, no waiting period.
Under the updated regulations, domestic workers may only be recruited from 10 approved countries. These include India, Nepal, Vietnam, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Africa, Benin, Sri Lanka … and other countries in that approved group, meaning not Kenya anymore for now.
Labour experts also warn that this could land with real impact on thousands of Kenyan job seekers, because Kuwait has been viewed as one major destination for domestic work.
Kuwait has been running a number of labour reforms over the last few years, with goals like improved transparency, firmer supervision, and stronger protections for both workers and employers. Officials say this latest action is basically another attempt to sort out recruitment procedures, and bring steadier governance to the domestic labour market.
“
The reforms aim to ensure transparency and better protection for workers and employers alike,” officials said.
About Author
