Kuwait: Government Attacks on Workers’ Rights

The ITUC has criticised the latest attack by the government of Kuwait

against the rights of its own employees, following a statement by Justice

Minister Ahmed Al Mulaifi that strikes are prohibited and that international

conventions which guarantee workers’ rights are not applicable to him.

“The Kuwaiti government has issued a number of threats recently against

the country’s workers, and this latest act by the Minister of Justice is

totally unacceptable. Kuwait is a member of the ILO, and is obliged to respect

fundamental freedoms in line with the ILO Constitution. The ITUC fully supports

our affiliate in Kuwait, the KTUF, in its efforts to defend and promote these

basic rights. Working people in Kuwait have legitimate grievances, and

aggressive statements and actions by the government will only make the

situation worse. The authorities should negotiate and seek to resolve problems,

not try to make them go away by issuing threats,” said ITUC General Secretary

Sharan Burrow.

The Minister’s statement was issued in

response to strike action being undertaken by employees in the Justice Ministry

itself.

Owen Tudor