After much uproar from employers in Kuwait, India has scrapped with immediate effect the $2,500 (720 Kuwaiti Dinar) bank guarantee, which was made mandatory in 2014 while recruiting Indian nationals as domestic help workers. The bank guarantee was decided upon following frequent complaints relating to sexual assault and abuse from Indian female workers employed in Kuwait.
“The measure was withdrawn primarily because it was not acceptable for Kuwait and because it was proven to be ineffective,” Sunil Jain, India’s ambassador to Kuwait, said, Gulf News reported.
Labor Relations between India and Kuwait
India’s decision to mandate the bank guarantee became a hot debating point when it was implemented in 2014. Several Kuwaiti employers openly expressed their displeasure.
“Kuwait has regularly informed the Indian authorities that the local domestic labor law included all guarantees for helpers and prevented problems related to late or non-payment of salaries, working hours and runaways,” a diplomatic source told Kuwaiti daily Al Rai.
Jain says the new decision will help resume the annual flow of Indian housemaids to Kuwait to its former figure of 30,000 people. “Kuwaitis prefer Indian house maids because they have proven to be honest and hardworking,” he said, the Times of India reported.
The latest decision by India coincides with the Kuwait visit of MJ Akbar, the Minister of State for External Affairs, that starts on Sept. 18.