Laydown For Migrant Workers
According to Labour and Skills Development Principal Secretary Mr. Shadrack Mwadime, 65 percent of Kenya’s population consists of young people. He mentioned this during a meeting with officials from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Acting Director General of the National Employment Agency (NEA), and representatives from recruiting agencies. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss various aspects related to migrant workers going to Saudi Arabia.
During the meeting, Mr. Mwadime highlighted four key areas that his department is focused on addressing for migrant workers. These areas include reducing the cost of recruiting from $1100 to $850, shortening the duration of the recruiting process from 29 days to 14 days, and reducing the domestic workers’ training period from 21 days to 14 days. He also expressed concerns about runaway workers and mentioned that the government is implementing strategies to curb this issue. Actions will be taken against such workers, including covering the expenses incurred and permanently barring them from working in any other country. To ensure compliance, binding contracts will be signed between the parties involved.
“We will take strong actions against runaway workers who choose to leave their employment even a week after being hired. These actions will involve covering the entire cost of their expenses to Saudi Arabia, including plane tickets, and imposing a permanent ban on them from working in any other country”, said the PS adding that a binding contract will be signed to ensure that both parties fulfill their obligations
To facilitate pre-departure training, various institutions such as Utalii College, National Youth Service, and Kenya Medical Training Centers, among others, will collaborate with the Saudi Arabian government. The aim is to align the training with the specifications provided by Saudi Arabia, thereby reducing the time workers spend in both countries. The government is actively pursuing job opportunities for both skilled and unskilled labor, in line with President Ruto’s objective of job creation.
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