KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait will soon start a gradual process of scrapping the sponsorship system for foreign workers, criticized by human rights bodies as akin to slavery, a minister said in press comments on Thursday.
Under the scheme, applied in most other Gulf states, foreign workers must be sponsored by a local businessman, thus keeping them at the mercy of their employers.
Rights groups say that the system spawns widespread abuses.
“The ministry plans to scrap the rules for certain categories of expatriates provided they have a clean security record,” Social Affairs and Labor Minister Mohammed Al-Afasi said in comments published in Al-Anbaa daily. Afasi said under the plan, exempted workers can sponsor themselves and will enjoy full freedom of movement and choosing jobs.
The minister did not specify the groups to be covered but said this will depend on the duration of their stay in Kuwait and type of work.
“The sponsor system is against human liberty,” said the minister. “The current situation is almost chaotic with regards to the exploitation of foreign workers and depriving them of many rights stipulated by the law.”
Under the sponsor system, foreign workers are bonded to their employers and have no right to move to other jobs without the prior approval of their current employers.
However, Afasi last month allowed workers who served for three years with one employer to seek other jobs without prior permission.
Of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council countries, only Bahrain has relaxed the sponsorship requirements for foreign workers.
