Kuwaiti govt to pay all dues of deported workers

FE Team | Published: August 07, 2008 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

The government of Kuwait has decided to pay off all arrears of salary, allowance, service benefits and insurance claims to the Bangladeshi workers deported from the Gulf country through the Bangladesh Embassy over there, an official announcement said Wednesday, reports UNB.

The Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry in an emergency release asked the deportees to submit applications containing necessary information to the Manpower, Employment and Training Bureau in the capital or its district offices concerned.

The information should include a copy of passport/travel permit, a copy of Kuwait's civil ID, the name and detailed address of their appointment companies, the date of entry into Kuwait, the deportation date, the date from when the dues remained unpaid and the amount.

A total of 363 workers have so far been sent back from the Gulf state amid agitation against low and irregular payments, mistreatment and so on by the recruiters and employers.

Another report adds: Foreign Adviser Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury has requested the Kuwaiti government to hold an inquiry into the recent incidents involving Bangladeshi workers.

Iftekhar, also in charge of the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, made the request Wednesday in a letter addressed to Kuwaiti Interior Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Khalid Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

'It is in our common interest that such incidents do not recur,' the adviser said in his letter.

'For the faults of a few, many are being mercilessly deported empty-handed. While we affirm our principled position that all should abide by the law, it is our earnest hope that the otherwise peace-loving workers would not suffer,' he added.

The Foreign Adviser in another letter to Kuwaiti Labour Minister Bader Fahad Al Duwalia expressed the hope that "under his blessings the situation would return to normal and that the Bangladesh community would continue to contribute to the socioeconomic development of Kuwait.'

Earlier, on Tuesday, the Foreign Adviser addressed another similarly worded letter to the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Kuwait, Dr. Sheikh Mohammed Sabah Al Salem Al Sabah.

Speaking to the media afterwards, the Foreign Adviser said the relentless diplomatic efforts are bearing fruits and normalcy is gradually returning.

He welcomed the Kuwaiti Cabinet decision to fix the minimum wages of foreign workers at 40 Dinar (KWD).

'It is my hope that all Kuwaiti employers will abide by it. I am sure they are also not forgetting that when Kuwait suffered foreign aggression, Bangladeshi soldiers fought to restore their freedom and sovereignty,' Iftekhar said.