The number of domestic workers in Kuwait have reached 811,000 until last month from 583,000 in late 2021 despite a ban on recruiting new labour from the Philippines amid a row.
The number of house labour coming from India has increased by around 30 per cent this year against 2022, reaching 361,000 until last month. Indian female house workers accounted for 28.7 per cent of the figure.
In contrast, the figures show a drop in the number of house workers from Sri Lanka from 79,000 in 2022 to 48,200 this year, with female labour making up more than 90 per cent of their total.
Despite the ban on new recruitments, domestic workers from the Philippines in Kuwait come second in terms of numbers, reaching 201,000. Moreover, Filipinas still top the overall number of foreign female house labour in Kuwait, accounting for 99.4 per cent of the total Philippine house workers in the country.
In May, Kuwait announced suspending the issuance of all visas for Filipino workers in reaction to what it said Philippine authorities’ failure to comply with a labour agreement previously reached between the two countries.
Kuwait blamed the ban on what it called “wrong practices” made by the Philippine embassy and crimes committed by some members of the Filipino community against Kuwaitis.
However, Kuwait said it continues renewal for Filipinos holding valid residency permits, who want to keep working in the country.
Last month, Kuwait’s Assistant Foreign Minister for Asia Affairs Sameeh Hayat cited are efforts to defuse the row.
Earlier this week, Kuwait said starting from November 5, Kuwaitis will have the right to scrap a house worker’s iqama or residency permit three months after the worker’s departure from the country instead of waiting for six months.
