Fahad Al-Yousef: Delay in Salary Payments Has Reached a Dangerous Level

Faisal Matar: First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef has stated that the injustice resulting from unpaid wages has reached a critical level, affecting even warehouse workers in cooperative societies. He revealed that the files of 10,000 companies operating in the private sector, each employing five or more workers, have been suspended for failing to pay their employees’ salaries for periods ranging from one to one and a half years.

This came during his second meeting with representatives of private sector companies, titled “The Wage Protection System: A Shield for the Workforce, A More Compliant Market,” attended by the Director General of the Public Authority for Manpower, Eng. Rabab Al-Asimi, and company owners.

Sheikh Al-Yousef said the meeting followed up on warnings he issued during the first session regarding the dangers of “guarantorship” (tamin) for citizens, and the involvement of some in money laundering cases. He pointed out that there are citizens who are unaware that companies are registered in their names, for which they receive only small profit shares. He added that one citizen was registered as having a salary of 3,000 dinars, yet receives only 180 dinars monthly. He explained that such practices damage Kuwait’s reputation in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and other international indicators.

Al-Yousef disclosed that authorities seized a restaurant registered under only one person—the owner’s son—and collected 70 million dinars from the restaurant and two additional companies. He expressed surprise at the rising number of money laundering cases being reviewed by the State Security Investigations, noting that files of three individuals were recently opened, revealing failure to pay workers’ salaries for up to one and a half years, while the company owner is a fugitive.

He emphasized that human trafficking, non-payment of workers’ salaries, and money laundering all negatively impact Kuwait’s classification by the FATF. He also revealed the deportation of approximately 300 delivery workers found in violation of regulations over a few days.

For her part, Eng. Rabab Al-Asimi, Director General of the Public Authority for Manpower, stated that the Authority had suspended the files of an additional 10,000 companies since last September due to their failure to comply with paying workers’ salaries. She called for designating a staff member responsible for payroll matters in each company, noting that many firms fail to submit required documents through the Authority’s systems. She stressed that failure to pay salaries leads to immediate suspension, and that the Authority now suspends non-compliant files on a monthly basis.