At least twelve licenses have been revoked so far as evidence mounts of rogue employment agencies involved in recruitment of workers seeking new opportunities in the Gulf states.
This comes after Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary-General Francis Atwoli met with Qatar’s Labour Minister to discuss human rights breaches committed by local employers.
Following an upswing of complaints about the terrible state of Kenyan workers, Atwoli met with Qatar’s administration chaired by Labour Minister Ali Samikh.
Another meeting is being arranged with Qatari authorities to start a systematic discourse on the rights and conditions of African workers in Qatar and the region.
“We agreed that there was a need to ensure the safety of Kenyans, especially domestic workers, in Qatar by doing away with employment agencies that have been used to sneak in Kenyans,” said Atwoli.
Simultaneously, Samikh stated that they are in the process of terminating the operations of Kenyan-owned job agencies that have been accused of violating migrants’ rights.
“Just like the Philippines, the Kenyan Government should establish government-to-government relations with Qatar so that negotiations on the terms and conditions of Kenyan workers in Qatar are overseen by the Government, and not by agencies,” said Samikh.
Atwoli challenged the Ministry of Labour late last year to prohibit Kenyan employees from seeking work in the Middle East, describing the working conditions as akin to slavery.
He also advocated for the shutdown of agencies that transport Kenyans to Arab countries, claiming that a number of Kenyans have been killed and mistreated abroad.
Despite atrocities in Arab countries, Labour Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui said the government would not prevent individuals from seeking greener pastures.
According to the Foreign Ministry, 1,025 Kenyans were in distress in the region in 2020, up from 883 in 2019. In the Gulf countries, 89 Kenyans died between 2019 and 2021, with more than half of them being women.
The most common causes of death were cardiac arrest, natural death, or suicide.