Kuwait has launched a major crackdown on companies failing to pay workers’ salaries, with around 10,000 companies under scrutiny for alleged wage violations, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef Al-Sabah has announced.
Speaking at the second meeting with private-sector company owners and representatives, held under the theme ‘The Wage Payment System: Protecting the Workforce, Building a More Compliant Labour Market’, Sheikh Fahad stressed that employers must fulfil their financial obligations to workers and that violations would not be tolerated.
The minister revealed that authorities were examining companies employing five or more workers that had failed to pay salaries for several months. In some cases, workers had reportedly gone without wages for as long as 18 months, highlighting the scale of the problem facing parts of Kuwait’s private-sector labour market.
He cited a case involving a Kuwaiti citizen whose registered monthly salary was KD 3,000, while he reportedly received only KD 180 a month. The case raised concerns over questionable employment arrangements, fictitious salary records and the misuse of company registrations.
Sheikh Fahad warned that failure to pay workers, alongside practices potentially linked to human trafficking and money laundering, could damage Kuwait’s international reputation, including its standing with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
He also referred to investigations involving three individuals whose workers had allegedly gone without salaries for up to a year and a half, while the company owner had reportedly fled.
Stricter wage monitoring
Director-General of the Public Authority for Manpower Eng. Rabab Al-Osaimi said companies that fail to pay their employees would face action, including the suspension or closure of their files. She warned that non-compliance with wage-payment requirements could lead to immediate suspension.
The authority is also monitoring cases involving companies that allegedly record wages on paper without making the corresponding payments. Coordination with the Central Bank of Kuwait is under way to address potential loopholes in the wage-payment system.
The discussions focused on strengthening the monitoring of salary payments, improving employer compliance and ensuring that workers receive their dues on time.
Sheikh Fahad emphasised that the law would apply equally to all employers, regardless of ownership or status, and called for an end to practices that exploit workers or leave them without their rightful earnings.
The measures form part of wider efforts to improve labour-market discipline, protect employees’ financial rights and ensure greater transparency and accountability across Kuwait’s private sector.