The ongoing shortage in the supply of domestic helpers for households is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, according to the Head of the Union for Owners of Recruitment Offices for Domestic Workers, Khaled Al Dokhnan.
He noted that repeated requests made to the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM), the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant entities, have failed to reinstate visas for domestic workers, and to open up the airport to flights from countries that are on a banned list, such as India, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Nepal, from where the highest number of domestic helpers arrive.
Under the circumstances, the likelihood of resuming recruitment of domestic workers from abroad any time soon appears bleak, said the union head. Al-Dokhnan added that the number of domestic workers available for hiring has dwindled due to the absence of any recruitment from abroad for the last seven months and many of the workers in the country are currently on expired work contracts and wish to return to their countries.
On the other hand, statistics available at PAM show that the total recruitment offices registered with the department in charge of domestic workers was 483 and that there were 1,628 domestic workers registered with these establishments. Figures from PAM also reveal that 794 complaints were received by the domestic worker department from April 2019 until now, of which 307 were investigated, 192 were referred to the judiciary and 155 were resolved amicably. In the meantime, the Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI) has revealed that their new branch in Ahmadi Governorate alone has dispensed over 14,000 visas to domestic workers.
The continued suspension of activity at domestic worker recruitment offices has led to a booming black market for household helpers. Taking advantage of the demand from clients and the lack of competition, unscrupulous brokers have been filling the supply void by providing domestic labor services illegally and at high prices. These brokers have been found to advertise their services on social media platforms and are offering African and Asian domestic workers for a price of KD25 for a four-hour period, or KD250 per month.
In March, at the onset of coronavirus pandemic in the country, the Assistant Undersecretary for Residency Affairs in the Ministry of Interior, Major General Talal Marafi, called on citizens and expats not to hire domestic workers who work part-time or hourly, which is in violation of laws and in addition poses potential health risks. He explained that these workers often offer their services in multiple households and thereby they increase the risk of spreading the virus from an infected person to all the houses that employ them.
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