KUWAIT, Jul 14 (Kuwait Times): Case 1. A Sri Lankan housemaid who has worked for a Kuwaiti family for 17 years has not been paid a single dinar in pay for all her years of service. The middle-aged woman is currently in the care of her country's embassy in Jabriya. Case 2. A Filipina housemaid who escaped from her abusive Kuwaiti employer after working with the family for over two years without any salary is forced to remain in the country living on the embassy's premises, for nearly a year in order for her to resolve the case.

She finally got a release from her previous employer, but to this day she remains in the embassy's care, awaiting a new employer. Case 3. An Indonesian housemaid claimed to have been subjected to all forms of verbal abuse, but also hasn't been paid any salary at all for the last 18 months. The woman is in the custody of the Indonesian embassy in Khaifan.

These three cases illustrate the dilemma faced by some housemaids in Kuwait. However, things are about to change for domestic helpers, especially in the field of non-payment of salaries, providing that the government's proposed amendments to the current legislation that would compel employers to pay domestic salaries direct to their bank accounts are passed and adopted.

According to the Managing Director of Kuwait's Immigration Department, Brigadier General Abdullah Al-Ali, such cases could be avoided in the future if a plan to deposit a monthly salary directly into housemaids' bank-accounts is pushed through parliament. The proposal, which was published by several media outlets in Kuwait yesterday, includes the establishment of a shelter for runaway housemaids which would house around 1,000 people.

Speaking with the Kuwait Times, the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Kuwait Sarath Dissanayake lauded the Kuwaiti government's plan to implement a salary system which could help alleviate the suffering of many of his compatriots who work as housemaids. "I think the plan is very encouraging," he said. "I hope they'll implement it soon." The ambassador further provided details of the aforementioned Sri Lankan housemaid who worked with her sponsor for 17 years without receiving payment.

She is currently under our custody; imagine working for seventeen years without pay?! If the salary system is implemented, the number of cases of of salary non-payment could be minimized," added Ambassador Dissanayake. The Philippine Labor Attach� Vivo Vidal's reaction echoed that of the Sri Lankan Ambassador. Vidal praised the proposed measures, which he said would surely help to reduce, if not eradicate, non-payment of salaries. "It's favorable to our housemaids," he said. "Salary records can be tracked
through local banks. In the event of complaints, we can check the bank records in case an employer fails to pay their housemaids' monthly salary.

Afrian Asri, Press Attach� with the Indonesian Embassy's Consular Affairs Division, also lauded the Kuwaiti government's proposal. "It's a breakthrough in our crusade to help our housemaids to get their monthly salary," he stated. "In this way it's possible there could be no salary-related abuses." The Philippines, Sri Lanka and Indonesia are just three of many countries that provide numerous domestic workers for Kuwait; on a monthly basis, however, most of these embassies each shelter between 150 and 300
of these housemaids fleeing their sponsors' homes, with many of these cases involving non-payment of salaries, as well as other forms of abuse.

One Filipino community leader, speaking with the Kuwait Times on condition of anonymity, expressed disapproval over the Kuwaiti government plan. "How can you be sure that salary abuses can be reduced by paying the salaries through banks?" he asked. "Whether through banks or by hand, if the employer is a cheat he can cheat even through banks." He voiced cynicism about the usefulness of the proposed measure, citing another controversial but widely-used practice: "One great example is passports: Who should t
ake of workers' passports based on Kuwait law? It should be the workers, right? But based on practice, those who are really keeping their passports are their sponsors; so what should we expect with the new measure?

The prominent activist also said that since many housemaids' civil ID cards are already withheld by their sponsors, this would also be likely to happen with any ATM or other bank cards, with the sponsors then able to use these cards as they wished. "Maybe they would deposit the salary every month, but they could easily withdraw the money a few minutes after depositing it. So what use is it [for the maid]?

With regards to the proposed shelter for runaway maids, meanwhile, Ambassador Dissanayake was cautious but hopeful. "This plan was proposed two years back and did not materialize," he pointed out. "I hope this time they will really construct the shelter which I know would really help in decongesting our shelter. Also, if the shelter is established they can help us in terms of providing food and medicines to some of our sick runaways.

On another issue, asked for his reaction to recent news reports about the introduction of a regulation limiting housemaid recruitment costs to a maximum of KD250, Vidal said that this issue would be decided by coordination between the Kuwaiti authorities and local recruitment agencies rather than having anything to do with the countries' embassies.

We are a government entity," he pointed out. "We don't deal with any recruitment payment issues. When it comes to that, I think the Kuwaiti government should talk to their local recruitment agencies here in order to reduce the expenses for hiring housemaids. Each agency has a list of expenses imposed for hiring housemaids. I think it includes plane tickets, insurance, medical expenses and others," he said.

The cost of recruiting a new housemaid in Kuwait, excluding wages, can vary between KD500 and as much as KD1,000 and sometimes depends on nationality of the maid being hired and the recruitment agency which the potential employer is dealing with.