Sheikh Fahad Yusuf Saud Al-Sabah, the Minister of Interior of Kuwait, announced that the cases of 10,000 companies with five or more workers have been suspended for a period of one to one and a half years due to non-payment of salaries. In a meeting with representatives of the private sector, he stated that a new automated system has been established to suspend company cases immediately upon non-payment of salaries.
Support for Migrant Workers
Sheikh Fahad emphasized in this meeting that the purpose of holding this session is to serve the interests of employers and migrant workers. He added that no country values its citizens as much as Kuwait does, and the government is committed to supporting migrant workers and ensuring their salaries are paid. He announced that the past chaos has come to an end and should not occur again.
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The Role of New Laws in Reducing Problems
The Minister of Interior of Kuwait also highlighted the severe issues of non-payment of salaries, stating that this matter has reached a serious level, especially concerning workers in contracting companies within cooperatives. He noted that with the strict implementation of monthly payments, the number of labor strikes has significantly decreased. Additionally, he warned that issues such as human trafficking and money laundering harm Kuwait's international reputation.
Sheikh Fahad added that the "guarantee" method, in which businesses are registered in the names of citizens, leads citizens towards money laundering, and the number of such cases is significantly increasing. He referred to a case where a restaurant collected 70 million dinars solely based on its owner's license. Furthermore, about 300 delivery workers who were in violation were dismissed within a few days.
Sheikh Fahad emphasized that by facilitating salary payment processes, monitoring companies that violate laws or allow workers to work for others will be significantly increased. He also mentioned that companies have been informed about the new controls in previous meetings.
The Director General of the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM), Rabab Al-Asimi, also announced that salaries must be paid before the seventh day of the following month and added that regular salary payments lead to a reduction in labor disputes, strikes, and protests. She also noted that the cases of another 10,000 companies have been suspended since September due to non-payment of salaries.
Data presented by PAM in this meeting showed that the salary payment compliance rate in July 2026 increased to 75.6%, a significant growth compared to 38.7% last year. Additionally, companies submitted 93,865 requests through the rights protection system from January to September, representing a 195.6% increase compared to the same period last year.
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