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{
    "id": 949080,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/949080/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 275,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Emuhaya, ANC",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Omboko Milemba",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13328,
        "legal_name": "Jeremiah Omboko Milemba",
        "slug": "jeremiah-omboko-milemba"
    },
    "content": " Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, thank you. I will re-do it. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hosts approximately 11 million foreigners as employees in various job categories. Out of the figure mentioned above, Kenya has approximately 55,000 migrant workers in the Kingdom, which translates to a minimal percentage as compared to what other countries have exported to the Kingdom. However, to accommodate the 11 million workers, the Kingdom has undertaken various measures ranging from legal to social frameworks which are meant to guarantee the welfare of the migrant workers in the Kingdom. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, some of the countries that have the highest number of migrant workers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are Sudan, Pakistan, Egypt and Afghanistan. Measures that have been undertaken by the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to address the welfare of workers include the issue of wages. In an effort to address unpaid or delayed salaries, the Government, through the Ministry of Labour and other State authorities, enacted legislation to control employers and employees in terms of wages. According to provisions of labour laws, currently, an employer must pay wages to the employee by 5th of the following month. Any employer who fails to pay wages by 5th risks a fine of not less than 5,000 Saudi Riyals. If you check Google, you will be able to tell the equivalent of that in Kenya Shillings. Their currency is called SAR. So, the fine they have to pay is SAR5,000. An employer also risks being blocked from transacting any business, including freezing of his or her account; and this is already being enforced. The wages to employees are fixed by agents and their clients based on the ability of the employer to pay far above the minimum wage fixed by the joint technical team whichever is greater. There is a joint team that fixes wages. Once an employee goes there, the wage would be determined by the potential of that employer to pay and it must be above the minimum of what the joint technical committee has always fixed. The employer must also open an account in the name of the employee to deposit wages before 5th of the following month and the same will reflect at the Ministry of Labour through an automated system called Musaned. This agreement and payment is reflected in the entire system which is managed by the Ministry. The Kenyan mission in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will also be granted access to the system to enable monitoring of the system. On employment contracts which have vastly been talked about, to address the numerous complaints of unscrupulous agents drafting fake contracts, the Ministry of Labor in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has developed standard contracts through the Musaned system for domestic workers, which are observed by both employers and recruitment agents on hiring an employee. An employer must issue a copy of the contract to the employee otherwise he risks a fine of not less than SAR5,000. According to the standard contracts, no employer can transfer an employee to work for another family member as the same is considered violation of contract. Later on, I will be explaining the issue of transferring an employee from one family to another. It is what brings a lot of problems in terms of mistreatment of the workers. On work permit, it is issued for five years and it is renewable annually by the employer. The permit is only issued to employees who enter the Kingdom on contract. Employees who violate the contracts are deprived their right to ownership of work permits, which are also called the Iqama"
}