Pay hike for Lankan housemaids in Kuwait delayed - Ambassador

The implementation of the KD75-KD85 monthly salary for Sri Lankan housemaids in Kuwait will be delayed for at least three weeks, Sri Lankan ambassador to Kuwait said. The Sri Lankan government decided to delay the implementation, pending an appeal from Kuwait recruitment agencies and local employers.

Ambassador C.A.H.M. Wijeratne was speaking on the sidelines of a forum at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Monday night organised by the Sri Lankan embassy to promote skilled and semi-skilled manpower in Kuwait. The ambassador said the implementation of the salary increase will be delayed for some time. "It will be implemented maybe in two to three weeks time," he said.

"We delayed it because we want to listen to Kuwaiti employers and recruitment agencies who expressed reservations on our plan," he stated. The ambassador said the Sri Lankan government believes that increasing the salaries of their housemaids could ease the cases of runaways.

"We are the highest, in terms of runaway housemaids. We receive at least 15-20 people every day. We have more than 400 runaways in our shelter," he added. The Sri Lankan envoy welcomed Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare Minister Dilan Perera to the event. He said he personally proposed the salary increase, and it was brought to the attention of the ministry in Sri Lanka. He asserted that everyone agrees that salaries need to be increased, as the cost of living has skyrocketed everywhere in the world.

"Kuwaitis want their salaries to be increased by the hundred folds. What we want is an increase of KD10 on top of what the domestic helpers are currently receiving. This is small. The situation here is that you need people, you need housemaids," he said.

The ambassador mentioned one instance which he witnessed himself. "I witnessed one family eating at a party. Their housemaids were left and sat aside on one chair, starving. Where is the heart (of some people)? I personally was disturbed and agonized for seeing that scene with my own eyes," he observed.

Another abused Sri Lankan maid, he mentioned was a case of a domestic helper who had complained sometime ago about abuse. She died recently at the hands of her employer. "Besides unexplained death, we found out that for over three years she had not had any salary. I ask the employer to give the money, but the employer did not show up yet," he said. He said Sri Lankan housemaids have made enough sacrifices for themselves and also their families. "Most of the time they lose their loved ones. They lose their husband, their children are raped, and they return home with broken families. These people have not even had any chance for themselves either."

"As you know the cost of living has increased elsewhere. But then again, if employers are not very happy about it we are open for dialogue and hope to come up with better alternatives. We have a good relationship with Kuwait and we want to protect that," he reiterated. Senalankadikara is in Kuwait with Minister Dilan Perera to promote skilled and semi-skilled workers. He confirmed that about 300 nurses will be hired by the Ministry of Health, in addition to about 300 nurses already in the country.

"We are here to encourage Kuwait to go and get more Sri Lankan workers, not just domestic helpers. We have skilled workers, we have many pilots available, we have engineers. We want to promote our quality and professional people to the world," he said.

Courtesy: Kuwait Times