Gov’t Puts Measures in Place to Protect Kenyan Workers in the Middle East

The Kenyan Ministry of Labor has implemented new measures is says will eliminate mistreatment of Kenyan domestic workers in Middle Eastern countries.

Labor Ministry Cabinet Secretary Phyllis Kandie says the ministry has started a vetting and licensing program for all agents that recruit domestic workers to the Gulf countries. Only those agencies that are licensed and accredited will be allowed to recruit workers. The names of accredited agencies will be publicized so that Kenyans can vet them and know which agencies to use.

The ministry has also sent labor attaches to the Kenyan missions in three Gulf countries - United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. The attaches will be tasked with helping Kenyan workers settle in the countries, and handle cases of those workers who report abuse by their employers.

There have been numerous horror stories in recent of Kenyan domestic workers in Middle Eastern countries getting beaten, raped, and even killed by their employers. Most are lured to those countries by agents in Kenya who promise them good jobs at good pays, only for them to end up being in servitude-like environments when they land at their new jobs – with abuse, little or no pay, long hours, and little legal recourse in their countries of employment. The horror cases led the Kenyan government to ban domestic workers from traveling and taking jobs to three Gulf nations last year - United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia

With the new measures in place, the ministry expects the current ban that prevents domestic workers from moving to the three Gulf countries will be lifted soon.