Migrant workers in Kuwait still do not have the right to form trade unions, and are vulnerable to appalling exploitation. In November 2014 Mr. Abdulrahman al-Ghanim, former head of the Kuwait Trade Union Federation’s expat office, explained in an interview that he had resigned in condemnation of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs’ consistent failure to deal fairly with labour disputes.
Government bodies do not allow workers to sue employers for their rights; he explained they simply deport everyone who was reported “absconding”, without granting them the right to appeal or to tell their side of the story. Very few cases make it to court, and the workers concerned are not allowed to stay in the country while their cases are being tried.