Q8NRI.com

Kuwait: Last week, Agility Logistics announced a restructuring program that will lead to the termination of hundreds of employees from different departments. The restructuring was necessitated by the substantial decrease in new contracts caused by the recession and lawsuits filed by the US government over alleged overcharging of the US Department of Defense over 8.5 billion US dollars worth of contracts. Foreign embassies in Kuwait told Al Watan Daily that they are prepared to assist and provide jobs to laid-off workers.

An official at the Embassy of the Philippines said, "We are expecting at least 1,000 Filipinos to be laid-off from Agility, including of a large number of drivers working between Iraq and Kuwait."

The official explained that although Filipinos are not allowed entry into Iraq, yet they do enter as drivers as Iraq has been a part of Agility’s itinerary. "It states clearly in the passport that Filipinos are not allowed to travel to Iraq, not until the government of The Philippines decides to lift the ban. But since the deaths of drivers as victims of ambush, the government has strictly implemented the rule leaving the workers with no options but to return to the Philippines or find other jobs available in the country."

The official added that prior to the implementation of the company’s restructuring program, an official from Agility requested the embassy official to assist in urging the government of The Philippines to lift the entry ban for Filipinos to Kuwait and save their jobs but, unfortunately, the risk is too high for the government to allow Filipinos to travel to Iraq.

"We have spoken to another logistics company that has verbally agreed to absorb these Filipinos in the company. We hope that somehow these people will be able to secure jobs and we hope that other companies in Kuwait will consider hiring these workers," the official added.

Indian nationals working for Agility have also expressed concern over the untimely announcement. An Indian national who recently lost his job told Al Watan Daily that it is easy to find jobs in Kuwait if one is not particular about the salary.

"I used to earn at least 550 Kuwaiti dinars at Agility and since the time I got laid-off from the job, I have had difficulty finding another job with similar salary. Agility is a good company and they provide people with good salaries; unfortunately there are many of us who needed to be taken out since our department’s services no longer are needed," the Indian national lamented.

Furthermore, the Indian national also disclosed that the job retrenchment has been going on even before the announcement of the restructuring. He said that many Indian nationals have already lost their jobs but have somehow managed to find other jobs.
On the other hand, another Indian national revealed that workers at Agility were underpaid and drivers were paid as little as KD 200-250, considering they were risking their lives.

The Indian embassy did not disclose the exact number of workers laid-off from Agility or the number of casualties in Iraq. An embassy official stated "We are not very sure how many have been laid-off from the company but we have been advised of the situation. A few people have come forward to inform us of that they have lost their jobs but we have not received any request from any of our nationals for job assistance. Our labor department is more than willing to assist in finding jobs for these workers."

An official from the Embassy of Sri Lanka confirmed that they have a few nationals working for the company and the embassy hopes that those who have been given the pink slip will be compensated and will have the opportunity to find other jobs in the country. The official also affirmed that the embassy will always provide assistance to their nationals in whichever possible and capacity of the embassy. "So far we have never received any complaints from any of our nationals about the company and should there be any issue raised, we will provide assistance," the official stated.

The Embassy of Nepal has no knowledge of the issue and will investigate further on the situation. Al Watan Daily spoke to an official from Agility who affirmed that the company has indeed commenced the streamlining of workers but refused to comment further on either the case or the current situation of the company.

Ricky Laxa