The government is setting up a retirement plan programme for all Kenyan working abroad, Cabinet Secretary for Labour Dr Alfred Mutua announced yesterday.
During an engagement meeting with the agencies, Mutua warned that Kenyans working abroad will soon need to have an account in Kenya to help secure their future after they retire and return to the country.
He noted that the Ministry is already working with relevant bodies to get overseas workers on the pension plan dubbed haba haba.
“We will be structuring a system whereby even these people we are sending overseas, we may require them to have an accounting care so that part of their salary does not just remain local,” said Mutua.
The CS noted that Kenyans working abroad will have to pay six per cent of their salaries and encouraged them to add more from their tips, should they get any, to gain more profits once they retire.
Mutua added that this money will be readily available to Kenyans once their contract retires and need their money back.
“Once your contact is over, we don’t want to see Kenyans come back here and suffer. You can go to the NSSF and withdraw a cushioning amount of money to help you readjust to life at home. So, we are going to introduce this aspect of saving for all our people going overseas so that you have something on the ground. You need to have some money here that can also work for you,” emphasized the CS.
Following several contentious issues raised by the agencies regarding tedious and expensive processes imposed by the National Employment Authority (NEA), Mutua assured that he will establish regulations to streamline recruitment processes in the country and enhance labour migration.
He emphasized the need to have a committee that will uphold high standards in the sector and ensure that the system works for the benefit of all Kenyans.
Among the issues raised by the agencies was the initial fee that they have to pay to get licenses for operation. According to the agencies, they are required to pay approximately Sh500,000 and still incur additional expenses during the process.
Despite this fee which the agencies say is extremely expensive, the license expires annually and they have to renew it at a cost of not less than Sh200,000, a rate that is threatening the closure of many businesses.
In response Mutua acknowledged their sentiments and said that he will work to ensure businesses don’t close down because of issues pertaining licenses and costs.
“We will need to have a committee that will sit down and look into the license issue and extend it to make the conditions better for agencies. I think it’s fair that the license period is extended, “ he added.
He also promised to review the pre-departure training programme by NEA noting that it needs to be an efficient process.
The agencies complained that the pre-departure program usually fails students despite passing other programs prior, hindering them from securing their jobs abroad. The agencies are now calling on the ministry to scarp the program which they termed as unfair and unnecessary.
Mutua also issued a stern warning to unlicensed and shrewd agencies operating in the country saying that they will face the full force of the law if found.
“I want to set up a hotline so that you can be able to talk to me directly and the police, because they’re operating against the law so that we protect our people. We want to minimize cases where we are being told that agents are conning people and stealing their money,” he added.
The CS assured that he will be coming up with regulations as a result of this meeting to streamline the system and said that another meeting with the agencies will be scheduled in the next two or three works to implement these policies.
Mutua was accompanied by Principal Secretary for the State Department of Labour Shadrack Mwadime, NEA Chair Vincent Kigen, and NEA Director General Edith Okoki.
