Members of the National Assembly have approved Sh304 million to establish a safe house in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The safe house will be used to accommodate Kenyan migrant workers from inhumane treatment by their employers.

The move comes in the wake of rising cases of Kenyans, especially domestic workers, being subjected to harassment leading to injuries and even deaths in the gulf.

 In a report tabled at the National Assembly, the MPs who sit in the Budget and Appropriations Committee also acceded to the requests by the departmental Committee on Social Protection that will also help in the expansion of labour attaches officers as per cabinet approval.

“The budgetary allocation for establishing a safe house in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and operating expenses related to fact finding mission for the Ministry of Labour delegation to Saudi Arabia, be prioritised to have the ministry undertake critical oversight of labour issues affecting Kenyans living in Saudi Arabia,” states the report.

Additional protection

The MPs in the report also called for the fast-tracking of the Labour Migration Bill and policy to address the issue of mistreatment of Kenyan migrant workers in the Gulf region.

 The Bill, which seeks to reinforce existing legislation on labour migration and accord additional protection to migrant workers is aimed at strengthening the existing labour migration laws to offer more protection to migrant workers.