Kuwait: Thousands of Nepali workers left stranded without pay as employers refuse visa renewals
Summary
Date Reported: 19 May 2020
Location: Kuwait
Other
Not Reported ( Sector not reported/applicable ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 12
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 12 - Nepal - Sector unknown , Gender not reported )Issues
Deaths , Intimidation , Failing to renew visas , Dismissal , Personal Health , Wage TheftResponse
Response sought: No
Action taken: None reported.
Source type: News outlet
"He lost his job and wanted to come home. The lockdown killed him." 17 May 2020
Two months before the end of [one Nepali couple's] contract in July, the employer demanded an advance for renewing their visa, threatening to send them home if they failed to comply.
They refused to pay and were subsequently fired... while waiting for the lockdown in Nepal to be lifted so they could come home, [the husband] died.
[Their] employer refused to renew [12 Nepalis'] working visas... they had been out of work for two months, and the company had also cancelled their visas...
[The workers] narrated how the employer had made them sign a visa cancellation paper and had left them without jobs or pay for 50 days.