House Committee Wants Labour CS to Scale Up Efforts For the Protection of Rights and Welfare of Kenyan Migrant Workers
The Committee on Diaspora Affairs and Migrant Workers has called on the Cabinet Secretary, Labour and Social Protection Hon. Florence Bole to scale up efforts regarding the development of policies and programs for the protection of the rights and welfare of Kenyan Migrant Workers.
Speaking this morning when the Committee hosted CS Bore, the Members led by the Chairperson sought to know the plans the Ministy had put in place to improve the process of recruiting Migrant Workers as well as safeguarding their rights and welfare since she took office.
“CS Bore, we invited you so you can shed light on the policies and programs you have put in place to address the challenges faced by Kenyan Migrant Workers abroad. We’re keen to know the efforts you have made towards the establishment of Safe Houses in the Gulf Region especially in Saudi Arabia where numerous distress calls have been reported, and with regard to deployment of Labour Attachés”, Hon. Mizighi told the CS.
In response, Hon. Bore told the Committee that both the establishment of Safe Houses as well as that of Labour Attaché Offices in key labour destination countries had been hampered by lack of a budgetary allocation. She sought the Committee’s help towards the establishment of Kenya Migrant Workers’ Welfare Fund which is set to be launched under a new Act of Parliament, after its recent approval by cabinet.
The fund to be managed by a Multi-Agency Technical Committee is meant to provide protection, welfare and assistance to Kenyan migrant workers during migration, stay in destination country and upon return to the country.
The CS who was accompanied by the Acting Director General, National Employment Authority further told the Committee that the Ministry had tightened the registration of recruitment agencies and set out stringent measures for renewal of registration.She revealed that a monitoring mechanism had been established to track if employment agencies adhere to the labour laws and if they do not their Certificates are cancelled.
“Successful agencies are issued with a registration certificate valid for one year after payment of Kshs. 500,000. In order to ensure that private employment agencies adhere to the Labour laws, a monitoring mechanism has been established.
This was after it was established that agencies could change their location(s), their directors and managers after inspection and vetting, and at the same time be involved in money laundering and trafficking in persons”, a section of her submissions read.
She told the Committee that the monitoring mechanism involves frequency of physical snap inspections of the Private Employment Agencies’ premises and their records. She noted that the increased frequency of physical snap inspections and capacity building of enforcement officers had accelerated effective responses against fraudulent employment practices.
Among the stakeholders that the Ministry has engaged in vetting and accreditation of employment agencies are the Office Attorney General, Kenya Revenue Authority, Ministry of Education, National Intelligence Services, Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
Members however wanted to know why there were some delays in accreditation and renewal of licenses for some agencies yet they had met the requirements for registration.
CS Bore cited the provision of law that only allows one year validity for registration, and the lengthy vetting process which she noted was crucial. She told the Members that over 153 agencies were awaiting clearance by the National Intelligence Services but noted that the NEA has a 3- months window for those registered to renew their certificates before their expiry.
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