Partner with us to create awareness on job placements abroad, Implementation committee tells Labour PS » Capital News
NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 19 – The Committee on Implemention have called on the State Department of Labour to become innovative in creating awareness for job placements abroad.
The legislators further want the State Department to partner with them on this cause, to enhance the number of applications from among eligible Kenyans who are out of work.
They made the call this morning during an engagement with Mr. Shadrack Mwadime, the Principal Secretary, State Department for Labour and Skills Development over the status of implementation of House resolutions on the welfare of migrant workers.
“ PS, you maybe aware of the number of Kenyans who approach us daily to search for them jobs. It is unfortunate, that there are many of them out of work yet they are eligible to thousands of job opportunities negotiated under the existing bilateral labour agreements”, Committee Members led by Kajiado Central lawmaker, Memusi Kanchori told the PS.
The Members were reacting to revelations by the PS that over 200,000 jobs have been advertised on the National Employment Authority’s (NEA) website though the uptake had been slow.
Underscoring their ability to reach the masses during their numerous visits to the constituencies, the lawmakers called on the Ministry of Labour to consider partnering with them in creating awareness on the available opportunities.
In the Session chaired by Hon. Memusi on behalf of the substantive chairperson, Members also sought to be apprised on the status of implementation of the five recommendations that the Committee had made for the consideration by the House, and which had since been approved.
The recommendations stem from the Departmental Committee on Labour and Social Welfare Report of the Fact Finding Mission on the Welfare of Migrant Workers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2019.
Among the recommendations, was the proposal that the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and the National Employment Authority ( NEA) vets all employment agencies to ensure Kenyans travel to Saudi Arabia and other destinations through official channels.
The Ministry had also been tasked with continuously monitoring the implementation of the existing Bilateral Labour Agreements to ensure they’re adhered to, in conjunction with their counterparts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On their part, NEA and the Department of Diaspora Affairs ( now a State Department) were tasked with marketing Saudi Arabia as an important destination for foreign employment and sensitize Kenyans on the correct procedure for travel to the country.
They were also charged with seeking alternative job placement opportunities besides the cadre for domestic workers, as well as conduct pre-departure training to prepare Kenyans on the challenges expected in Saudi Arabia and other destinations.
Apprising the Committee on the status of the implementation of these resolutions, PS Mwadime told the Committee that the Ministry had made great strides in not only improving the welfare of migrant workers, but also negotiating for more professional placement opportunities for Kenyans.
He noted that to ensure that private employment agencies adhere to the set legal framework for recruitment and placement , the State Department had intensified the inspection of Private Employment Agencies (PEA).
“ Hon. Members we have established a monitoring mechanism to ensure that private employment agencies adhere to the legal framework”, PS Mwadime explained.
“This involves increased frequency of physical snap inspections of the PEAs premises and their records as well as building the capacity of enforcement agencies, thus promoting effective responses against fraudulent recruitment practices”, he added.
He further informed the Committee that a distress reporting mechanism had been established through a web portal and a Toll- Free line to report migrant workers distress cases as well as those of fraudulent activities by recruitment agencies.
PS Mwadime also pointed out that the State Department had supported the recruitment agencies to form five associations and to develop a code of conduct. The code seeks to enhance self-regulation among the recruitment agencies.
He also pointed out that a list of recruitment agencies had been made available. Further, he observed that in line with the recommendations, Kenya had embraced the MUSANED- an electronic platform developed by the Government of Saudi Arabia to facilitate recruitment of domestic workers.
With regards to the status of development of Bilateral Labour Agreements , PS Mwadime informed the lawmakers that 4 the United Kingdom, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and State of Qatar had signed agreements with Kenya, while negotiations had commenced on seven new draft BLAs.
They include those of the Federal Republic of Germany, Sultanate of Oman, Kingdom
of Bahrain, Republic of Tanzania, Republic of Austria, Republic of Serbia and the Government of Canada. Fourteen new draft BLAs are awaiting negotiations.
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