Dozens of expatriates face deportation even if they can prove that absconding cases filed by their employers are false, after the Interior Ministry became solely responsible for looking into such cases. The labor relations department at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor used to handle investigations in cases filed by employers who claim that their employees went missing and failed to report to work without valid reasons.
The process allowed the department to reveal when employers made false accusations against workers to deny their rights, or negotiate a settlement between the two parties after the absconding employee was summoned. The department also determined when a worker committed a violation of the labor law that requires deportation, and approved workers? requests to transfer to another employer in case their original employers were uncooperative. But things have changed when the Interior Ministry was recently assigned to handle absconding cases as misdemeanors, allowing senior officials to make so-called ?administrative deportation? decisions without giving workers the right of due legal process.
Complicated procedures
This situation has already affected many expatriates who say that they struggle to navigate through the Interior Ministry?s complicated procedures to drop absconding cases filed against them, even when they have evidence to prove that the accusations were fabricated. The residents, who face the risk of being deported with their families, appealed with officials at the MSAL and Public Authority of Manpower to ?correct? the situation and reassume the authority of settling labor-related disputes.
The only legal way to settle these disputes now is through the Interior Ministry?s Criminal Investigations Department or by a court order, according to sources in the Public Authority of Manpower. ?After absconding cases became classified as misdemeanor crimes, labor relations departments can no longer negotiate settlements,? said the sources who spoke to Al-Jarida on the condition of anonymity. ?Instead, they should refer all absconding cases they receive to the Interior Ministry?s Criminal Investigations Department.? Meanwhile, the sources warned employers from lodging false absconding cases against their workers, or using the new stipulation to take advantage of or ?exact revenge? on their employees. ?If investigations prove that a case is fabricated, employers face being charged with forgery and a jail term ranging between three to seven years,? the source said.
No settlement
Maj Gen Talal Marafi, the General Director of the Immigration General Department, issued a decision recently to stop visa transfers of any expatriate charged with absconding. The decision, which was circulated at immigration administrations in Kuwait?s six governorates, stipulates that an expatriate in such a case would not be allowed to transfer his visa even if he has approval from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor or reached a settlement with his original employer. The decision applies to expatriates who were charged with absconding after last August. A worker does not have the right in this case to settle his dispute and return to working for his employer, and instead would be required to leave the country immediately.
The Interior Ministry says that the measure will prevent workers from leaving the company that hired them and signing contracts with other employers, then obtaining approval from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor to transfer their visas without the original employer?s approval. A worker in this case can avoid deportation if he wins a court order that stipulates reinstating his visa. But the problem comes from the fact that senior Interior Ministry officials could make decisions to deport expatriates for visa violations before investigations in the case conclude ? a decision known as administrative deportation.
Legal rights
A constitutional expert said that the controls for making administrative deportation decisions are vague. ?The legislator used general terms to define the general interest regarding the law that gives the Interior Ministry authority to deport an expatriate if that decision meets the general interest,? said Dr Mohammad Al-Feeli, constitutional law professor at Kuwait University. ?There are no certain controls to determine if an expatriate poses a serious threat to public security, such as the case in other countries,? Dr Feeli told Al-Watan daily.
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