KUWAIT: The Public Authority for Manpower and the Ministry of Commerce have urged people on Monday to use K-Net cards when dealing with labor recruitment offices exclusively.

On Sunday, the Minister of Commerce and Industry gave orders to set the maximum fare for recruitment of #domestic helpers, which includes the flight ticket as per directions of First Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled Al-Sabah. The fee was set at KD 750 for labor recruited from Asia and KD 575 for labor recruited from Africa, according to the new decision.

In a joint statement, the manpower authority and the ministry of commerce encouraged individuals to report any offices not adhering to announced prices or refusing to accept K-Net transactions. Complaints can be filed promptly by contacting the Public Authority for Manpower hotline (96966595) and the Ministry of Commerce hotline (135). Non-compliance with Ministerial Resolution No. (2) of 2024, issued on January 7, 2024, will be subject to investigation.

Both entities are establishing a collaborative committee between the Ministry of Interior, Manpower and the Ministry of Commerce to oversee inspections of labor recruitment offices. Strict legal measures will be taken against any offices violating ministerial decisions, the Domestic Workers Law and its executive regulations.

According to local media, the new directive aims at protecting citizens from exploitation and fraudulent practices related to travel ticket expenses in cases where workers refuse to complete the period of their contract with the employer for whatever reason.

The decision to pursue this amendment was spurred by complaints lodged by citizens against domestic worker recruitment agencies. These complaints detailed issues related to the recovery of charges imposed by these agencies.

There was a total of 780,000 domestic workers in Kuwait as of the end of March 2023, according to official numbers. Of that, 423,000 were female workers and 357,000 were male. Workers from four countries — India, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka — make up about 94.6 percent of total domestic workers in the country. — Agencies