Fresh vetting for agencies in migrant work recruitment
By Mercy.Mwai, February 24, 2023
Recruitment agencies dealing with migrant workers will have to undergo fresh vetting to bring sanity to the sector, the government has said.
Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Florence Bore said they will also be make radical changes to the sector as it has emerged as the biggest foreign exchange earner to the country.
Currently, there are over 700 recruitment agencies operating in the country.
“Trends in the last decade show tremendous growth in remittances inflow in the country. Diaspora remittances is currently one of Kenya’s highest foreign exchange earners,” Bore told a Parliamentary committee where she had appeared to give an update on migrant workers.
Bore while appearing before the National Assembly Diaspora Affairs and Migrant Workers Committee also told the MPs to prioritize the passage of the Labour Migration Management Bill, 2022 as it will deal with issues affecting the sector once it is enacted into law.
The Bill, she revealed, will be taken for Cabinet approval next week on Tuesday after which it will be brought to the House for processing.
“The Office of the Attorney General has finalized the legal drafting of the Bill, which is now awaiting submission to Cabinet for approval before submitting to parliament for approval and enactment,” the CS told MPs.
At the moment, diaspora remittance increased from Sh461 billion in 2022 beating earnings from both coffee and tea exports. The number of Kenyans in the diaspora is estimated at four million spread in Europe, USA, Asia, Middle East, Latin America, Canada, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, South Africa and Australia.