ShareCosts would drop if more countries open recruitment: Wuhaib
Saleh Al-WuhaibKUWAIT: The cost of hiring domestic helpers in Kuwait has skyrocketed over the years, leading the government to intervene by establishing the Al-Durra Company for Manpower, its own recruitment agency. As a result, according to Saleh Al-Wuhaib, General Manager of Al-Durra, the cost of recruitment through this company is 20 percent lower compared to the private sector.
"The cost of recruitment at private manpower agencies is higher. At Durra, it is KD 260 cheaper than the cost of recruiting housemaids from other sources," he said. "The problem is that people expect too much - way beyond reality. We have to understand that hiring a domestic helper is not like buying commodities. There are lots of factors to consider - this is why the cost is climbing and we cannot do anything about it, even if we are a government-owned company," he told Kuwait Times.
According to Wuhaib, the number one reason why the cost of hiring housemaids is so steep is because sources are few. "Today, from how many countries are we sourcing domestic workers? Technically, only two. There are some African countries too, but they are subject to legal issues and bilateral agreements, so we only have two countries left - the Philippines and Sri Lanka. If other countries like India and Indonesia open recruitment again, you will see the costs will fall automatically. The cost is tied to supply and demand, plus many other factors such as individual restrictions of countries supplying domestic helpers and bureaucracy in those countries," he explained.
KD 990
Last month, MP Safa Al-Hashem called on the government to close down Al-Durra. In a press statement, Hashem said the purpose of establishing Al-Durra was to reduce the exorbitant charges demanded by private recruitment agencies, but according to her, this isn't the case. Recently, Al-Durra announced an agreement was signed between Al-Durra and the Sri Lankan government, where Sri Lankan female workers can be recruited for KD 990.
But Wuhaib noted that Sri Lankan female workers do not want to come to Kuwait to work as domestic helpers anymore. "In this case, how will you be able to recruit housemaids? It's the lump sum amount that you give to the family back in Sri Lanka so they can be allowed to work in Kuwait. Plus, there are restrictions imposed by the Sri Lankan government and we have to abide by, or else they will not allow us to recruit workers. For instance, Sri Lankan women cannot come if they are under 25, or if they have children younger than five," he said.
"Apart from the scarcity of supply, the government has restrictive policies that we need to follow, or else we cannot get the housemaids. There are other sub-recruitment agencies in Sri Lanka who also need to be paid," Wuhaib said. He admitted that people expected too much from the new government-owned company without realizing the cost of recruitment. "Although we are owned by the government, the operation is run by board members, who are all from private companies. So we are controlled by the government, but privately run by the board. We are running the company just like other private companies," he revealed.
"People expected charges to be KD 300 or KD 500 at most. But to tell you frankly, this is only the cost of recruitment, plane tickets and documentation. But there are more payments that the agency has to make, like the cost of training and accommodation. For those who don't know, domestic helpers can be deployed only after training for about two months. During these months of training, they are paid by agencies back in Colombo or Manila, for which they charge us. So the result is a high recruitment cost," he said.
Asked if Al-Durra has signed an agreement with the Philippine government for domestic helpers, Wuhaib said: "No, we are waiting for their government's approval. Maybe we will learn about it this month. While we are waiting, we are hopeful that the Indian and Indonesian markets will open again soon. The cost will reduce considerably if this happens," he pointed out.
Bank guarantee
In the case of India, its government mandated in Nov 2014 that every employer who wanted to recruit an Indian female domestic worker had to provide a bank guarantee of $2,500 (KD 730) at the Indian Embassy, drawing protests from the Kuwaiti authorities. The issue was even raised in the National Assembly and several members of parliament called for stringent measures against India, such as halting the recruitment of manpower from the country. In Sept 2017, Kuwait's residency affairs department lifted the ban on recruitment of Indian female domestic helpers after the Indian government rescinded the bank guarantee clause. The decision will pave the way for hiring female domestic helpers from India.
As for Indonesia, the ban of domestic workers was imposed by its government in 2010, citing alleged abuses of its maids and continuous arrival of runaway housemaids at the Indonesian Embassy. Despite calls for a moratorium or a total ban by Filipino community leaders on deploying domestic helpers to the Middle East for the same reason, the Philippine government is not keen to impose the ban.
Wuhaib said although the company began operations in Sept 2016, only Indian male domestic helpers were recruited, such as gardeners, drivers and cooks. "The first batch of Sri Lankan maids will arrive by the end of February. We believe that recruiting domestic helpers is a process that needs time for training and preparation," he added.
The Al-Durra Company was established in response to calls that privately-run agencies were charging excessive sums for recruiting domestic helpers. The current charges for recruiting helpers at private agencies stand at approximately KD 1,200-KD 1,600. Al-Durra was established through law no. 69 of 2015 as a closed Kuwaiti shareholding company. Al-Durra is owned by various government agencies such as the Union of Consumer Cooperative Societies (60 percent), Public Institution for Social Security (10 percent), Kuwait Airways (10 percent), Public Authority for Minors' Affairs (10 percent) and Kuwait Investment Authority (10 percent).
Al-Durra publicizes that its mission is to recruit and train domestic helpers to offer an alternative to the unreasonable fees and 'monopolistic practices' of privately owned recruitment companies. Another stated objective is to operate with transparency to improve Kuwait's image and reputation internationally with regards to human rights and build strong relations with labor-sending countries, opening new channels.
Meanwhile, final work on accommodations to be used to house incoming domestic helpers is underway. Upon arrival in Kuwait, the domestic helpers are taken to the accommodation for a brief stay as a rest period before commencing work, as requested by some embassies. From there, they will be taken to their embassies for an orientation before being dropped off at their new places of work. Al-Durra will also handle cases of runaways, with transfer of sponsorship a unique privilege of the company. The interior ministry has given the right to relocate a worker only to Al-Durra, while those signed up with other agencies must leave Kuwait should they quit work.
By Ben Garcia
