KUWAIT CITY, Jan 13: Khalid Al-Ajmi, Chairman of the board of Kuwait Society for Human Rights, said that the Kuwait Society for Human Rights (KSHR) has contracted with attorneys to attend legal proceedings in labor courts and directly represent the workers and defend their cases for free.

Al-Ajmi pointed out that workers who file complaints with the Public Authority For Manpower (PAM) and are then referred to the judiciary will be provided with lawyers to defend their cases if they can’t afford to pay for a lawyer in case that they receive monthly salary not more than 100 Kuwaiti dinar or if the complaint requires direct legal representation in courts.

KSHR will also receive some cases through the hotline service if the case involves direct violation of the workers’ rights. “Centers of PAM resolve problems through negotiations but they don’t provide lawyers when some complaints are referred to the judiciary.

Many complaints have been referred to the labor courts. Last year, PAM received a total of 1,1071 complaints related to workers’ financial dues and referred 6,936 (62.6%) complaints of them to the judiciary,” he added.

Al-Ajmi indicated that the really high costs of hiring attorneys hinder ordinary workers from obtaining their rights, not to mention the prolonged litigation that can take several years, both for citizens or migrant workers.

The residency period of some complainants ends during this long period, and they become unable to renew their residency. So, they resort to violate the conditions of residency which force them not to seek judicial redress, or are being arbitrarily deported without getting their rights.

This service activity is part of the “Support” Project that aims to provide legal protection for migrant workers in Kuwait. KSHR implements this project in collaboration with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and PAM, under the honorary auspices of Hassan Kazem Mohammed, Assistant Undersecretary for Development Affairs in the Ministry of Social Affairs.

The project is implemented in six languages: English, French, Hindi, Urdu, Filipino and Arabic. A team of lawyers has been selected in accordance with certain criteria related to having skills and expertise in workers’ cases, as well as tendency to defend human rights. KSHR started implementing this activity at the beginning of 2018, while continuing receive the inquiries and complaints of workers at the hotline number 22215150 both in Arabic and English and also through the e-platform: http://togetherkw. org.

The Public Authority for Manpower has announced conditions for granting work permit valid for three years maximum, reports Al-Anba daily. The conditions include validity of the license and passport of the worker, approval of the employer according to the work contract, and early renewal of the work permit — six months before expiry.

Meanwhile, the authority has activated its social networking accounts to easily communicate with the public; in addition to applications for receiving complaints through social media and informing the concerned individuals about their violations through WhatsApp and Instagram. The authority vowed to maintain confidentiality in dealing with complaints.

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 13: The Farwaniya and Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh police have arrested a 40-year-old Bangladeshi working as a porter at a Jahra Hospital for stealing 230 revenue stamps from a machine, and practicing medicine without a license, reports Al-Rai daily.

The Bangladeshi was arrested during a campaign against violators in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh. At the time of arrest he was in possession of revenue stamps. Police, after taking legal procedures raided his apartment in the area and they were shocked to discover he was practicing medicine and had turned his apartment into a clinic.

The suspect even helped women to abort their fetuses. Police have also seized from him medicine which he had apparently stolen from the hospital. The ‘doctor’ and the contraband have been referred to the authority.

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 2: Director of the Labor Inspection Department in the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) Muhammad Al-Ansari said several individuals were arrested in violation of the Labor Law during the year-end campaign in coordination with the Ministry of Interior.

In a press statement, Al-Ansari disclosed those arrested include 51 laborers who were apprehended along Wafra Road. He explained the campaign was aimed at ensuring that everyone works as stated in their civil identification cards. He cited Article 136 of Labor Law number 6/2010 which stipulates: “Employees entrusted with the inspection shall have the authority to write violation tickets to those who work in unspecified locations. They shall have the right to request for assistance of public authorities and coordinate with competent authorities regarding any goods left by said workers, if the whereabouts of the owners thereof are unknown.” He added the amendment in Article 138 of Labor Law number 32/2016 warns against hiring an employee who is under the sponsorship of another employer as far as PAM is concerned.

Penalties for this violation include jail term not exceeding three years, fine of not less than KD 2,000 and not more than KD 10,000 for every employee or both. He called on every employer to abide by the Labor Law, its amendments and regulations in order to avoid any violation; stressing labor inspection continues to guarantee strict compliance with the law.

Kuwait Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammed Al-Khalid announced that the new fees proposed to be imposed on Kuwaiti residents, which relate to government and private sector residence fees, visa fees, traffic violation fees and family entry fees, will be increased upto 100% of the fees that existed in the past.

Family Enrollment Fees: The Kuwaiti government sources indicated that the new fees for joining the family for residents inside Kuwait are as follows: Family entry fees for the mother 300 KD. Family entry fees for father 300 KD.

Fees for joining the family for children KD 150. Fees for accommodation in the public and private sector The fees for accommodation in the public sector increased to 20 dinars per year and the private sector 20 dinars per year. The temporary residence fee is 20 Kuwaiti Dinars, ie the increase was 100% In the past.
Traffic Charges: Visits in Kuwait have increased from 2 dinars per person to 30 dinars, with a renewal period of up to 3 months.
Traffic Violations Fees: Traffic violation fees vary according to the size and quality of the violation committed by the resident within the territory of Kuwait as follows:

The red signal exceeds KD 100. The speed limit exceeds 20 km limit. 20 KD. The speed increase is 30 km. 60 KD. The speed increase is 40 km. 80 KWD. The speed increase is 50 Km. 100 KD. Increase the rate of violations that were 30 dinars to reach 60 dinars. Increase irregularities that were 15 dinars to reach 30 dinars. Conditions for joining a family to Kuwait residents: The resident's salary must not be less than 450 Kuwaiti Dinars. The salary is calculated on the basis of the profession in which the resident was granted the visa to reside in Kuwait.
In addition to some important occupations, including judges, prosecutors, researchers, experts, professors of universities, colleges and higher institutes, in addition to a number of other professions, Source: Agencies

Translated from: http://www.aladdwaa.com/kuwait-news/346815

Kuwait: A fight broke out among a number of girls inside a sheesha café. According to security sources, when the Operations Room of Ministry of Interior received information about the fight, securitymen and paramedics were dispatched to the location. They discovered that three of the girls fled while remaining two had sustained injuries and were treated at the site. One of the injured girls informed securitymen that they were smoking sheesha when the three other girls annoyed them and started arguing with them. Eventually, the argument escalated and they started insulting and hitting each other. Based on the descriptions of the three runaway girls, securitymen have launched investigations to find and arrest them. Meanwhile, a Syrian woman lodged a complaint at Salmiya Police Station, informing securitymen about two youths who were harassing her. She provided securitymen with their descriptions, using which securitymen have launched investigations to find and arrest the two men.

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 1: A 20-year-old Palestinian stabbed a Pakistani several times when the latter tried to prevent him from breaking into his car in the parking lot of Friday Market. While heading to the parking lot, the Pakistani expatriate was surprised to see someone breaking into his car. He immediately went to prevent the robbery only to be stabbed several times by the Palestinian youth who escaped when passersby rushed towards them. The passersby called security men and provided them with the descriptions of the assailant. The injured Pakistani was taken to Farwaniya Hospital where he was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit in serious condition. Police later managed to arrest the assailant who confessed to stabbing the victim. He said he didn’t want to harm the victim but only wanted to steal the car. Necessary action was taken against the suspect.