Embassy warns against delivery driver job racket in Kuwait

MANGALURU: The Indian embassy in Kuwait has put out an advisory for Indians, who are coming to Kuwait to work as ‘restaurant drivers’ on employment visas. Once they land in the country, they are later deployed as ‘delivery drivers’ or ‘riders for food platforms’. The job has several traps that aspirants must be aware of before they land here, stated the advisory.
The advisory stressed that any job vacancies with titles like ‘consumer orders,’ ‘consumer goods,’ or ‘delivery of orders’ are nothing but ‘food delivery aggregators’, often using two-wheelers or bikes for food deliveries.
Elaborating the job profile, the advisory stated that most of them use two-wheelers or bikes for delivery, even during peak summer time, when one signs up as a delivery person. Delivery drivers are provided with a small-to-medium enterprises (SME) visa, which binds the employee to work for the same employer for three years. There is no provision for the release or transfer of a visa during the three years, which means the expat cannot transfer his work permit to other employers. After three years, the workers can transfer to another SME employer or return to India.

When it comes to salary, it is usually commission-based with delivery targets and also based on the distance of deliveries. There is no fixed monthly income, as may be wrongly promised by some job agents. The weather conditions are harsh in Kuwait (extreme heat and duststorms) during some months of the year.
Regarding avoiding such traps, an official from the Indian Embassy in Kuwait, who did not wish to be identified, said all these expats recruited as delivery riders must insist on embassy-attested employment contracts (as per the Labour Laws of Kuwait with Minimum Wages of KD 120 [Rs 32,000] for delivery drivers) prescribed by the Government of India to safeguard their interests. The benefits of employment contract attestation through the embassy include insurance coverage and the additional insurance benefit of Pravasi Bhartiya Bima Yojana (PBBY). “The issue is already a concern for Kuwaiti and Indian officials. The job offers are under scanner,” he said.
What if one is already employed as a delivery driver in Kuwait?