Scrutinise bilateral labour agreements
By Editorial.Team, January 29, 2024Labour Cabinet Secretary Florence Bore has asked Kenyans to seek job opportunities abroad. The benefits of labour migration to the country and families are invaluable.
It has been pointed out that Kenya receives more money from diaspora remittances than it earns from coffee, tea and tourism.
This is an important economic bloc that should be jealously protected. These remittances are the source of livelihoods for thousands of families with relatives abroad while others are ploughed in the form of investments.
According to the CS, Kenya is processing the signing of 19 bilateral labour agreements that will open doors to job opportunities. There is a feeling that the country is yet to engage in constructive conversation about labour mobility.
Seeking economic opportunities is the main motivation for labour migration in Kenya.
Kenya prides itself as host of a huge human resource base, skilled and unskilled. The Labour ministry says that while about 1.2 million Kenyans join the work market every year, the formal and informal sectors have the capacity to absorb only 800,000 annually.
While we support efforts by the government to seek opportunities for Kenyans, caution must be taken to ensure that the bilateral labour agreements guarantee conducive working conditions, respect for human rights and dignity of workers.
Countries have had to review bilateral agreements to enhance protection, transfer of benefits and integration of migrant labour. There have been cases of infringement of migrants rights, trafficking in persons, child labour, forced returns, high cost of remittances and restriction of movement in the receiving countries.
Cases of mistreatment of Kenyans in the Gulf countries have been the subject of delicate diplomacy. Such situations are avoidable with proper scrutiny of the deals and, more importantly, the recruitment process.
In some cases, young and vulnerable migrant workers are left in the hands of exploitative, backstreet recruitment agencies.
This brings to question the effectiveness of the National Employment Authority which is mandated to coordinate and regulate employment of Kenyans abroad.
To say that the agency has failed to tame rogue employment agencies that have been robbing vulnerable job seekers is an understatement. It must put its act together to protect migrant workers from exploitation.