Kuwait: ‘Breakthrough’ law for domestic workers

Kuwaiti legislators adopted a law giving domestic workers enforceable labour rights on 24 June, which Human Rights Watch (HRW) described as a “major breakthrough” for the region. Kuwait has more than 660,000 domestic workers, most of them Asian and African women. The new law grants domestic workers the right to a weekly day off, 30 days of annual paid leave, a 12-hour working day with rest, and an end-of-service benefit of one month a year, among other rights. HRW urged Kuwait to rigorously enforce the law, and other Gulf states to follow Kuwait’s lead.