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{
"id": 1525642,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1525642/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "The Cabinet Secretary for Labour and Social Protection",
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"content": "(Hon. (Dr.) Mutua): Good morning, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Hon. Members, I reply as follows and thank you for the questions. I have provided to this House a list of all the Bilateral Labour Migration Agreements (BLMAs). They are quite a number. Therefore, if I read them, it will take some time and I know about the constraint of time. So, I will give a summary. That Bilateral Labour Migration Agreements are key instruments in ensuring migrant workers' rights and welfares are protected, increasing access to decent jobs in countries of destination and support realisation of the development benefits of labour migration. The BLMAs negotiated by the Ministry are right-based and aligned to the international labour standards. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
},
{
"id": 1525643,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1525643/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "The Cabinet Secretary for Labour and Social Protection",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "The Government of Kenya has signed and is implementing three agreements with the West Asian countries. This include the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on recruitment of domestic workers, signed in 2017. The State of Qatar on recruitment of employment of workers, signed in 2012. The third agreement is with the UAE on labour cooperation, which was signed in 2018. Additionally, the agreements have been signed with Germany in 2024, with Austria in 2024 and the UK in 2021, for healthcare professionals. Negotiations are ongoing with 10 countries and we are looking forward for a positive feedback from them. The agreements loosely reflect the principles and standards of the key international framework, including the International Labour Organization Conventions on Decent Work, Fair Recruitment and Migrant Workers Protection, as covered by ILO Convention 97 and 143. Two, the United Nations Global Compact on Migration, which promotes safe, orderly and regular migration. Three, regional protocols such as the African Union's Migration Policy Framework, which emphasises migrant rights. I have just summarised on the written; (b) on monitoring and enforcement mechanisms which have been established with these agreements to ensure that recruitment agencies and employers comply with the provisions of fair wages. The Ministry has put in place the following monitoring and enforcement mechanisms to ensure that recruitment agencies and employers comply with provisions related to fair wages, humane working conditions, and access to legal recourse in cases of violation- One is the BLMAs as explained above. The BLMAs are very clear in the rights of the Kenyans and the work needed to be done by the agency that is sending them overseas. There is also provision of consular and attaché services to migrant workers. Since we took over, as the Kenyan Kwanza Government, have now reformed how the consulars work. We have posted labour attachés. We work with the ambassadors to make sure that Kenyans are free to go to the embassies to report any cases and ensure that everything that is attested goes through a system that complies with the law. For example, Mr Speaker, Sir, before any person goes out of this country, the employer has to provide what is called a demand, or say that we need this person to be employed. That demand has to be taken to the Kenyan embassy of the country where they live and they do due diligence to see whether that company exist. Does this organisation exist? Are these jobs real? When that is done, they attest and they stamp. That is sent now to Kenya; particularly to my Ministry and a national employment agency. That is where now an agency here is allowed to recruit. Therefore, we have been able to do away with fake jobs overseas by ensuring there is a system through our consular services to ensure a Kenyan goes to do a job that is existing. Furthermore, the whole process of taking people abroad means that even before they are recruited, the Ministry has to attest their documents. If a Kenyan claim to be an engineer, we will not allow him to leave the country as an engineer if he does not have documents to show that indeed he is an engineer. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
},
{
"id": 1525644,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1525644/?format=api",
"text_counter": 31,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "The Cabinet Secretary for Labour and Social Protection",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, one cannot pretend to go there as a driver if he does not have a document to show that he is a driver. Even with hospitality, we cannot allow you to go there if you have never taken any hospitality courses. So, we make sure that those are aligned before you go. We have set up a desk at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and other international airports. The immigration now requires anybody going for employment to be verified by that desk at the airport before they can be allowed to leave the country. This ensures that people are smuggled out of the country. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we also have monitoring and spot checks of private employer agencies and we do impromptu visits to ensure that they are not briefcase agencies. We also have provided distress reporting tools and phone numbers to Kenyans working abroad. These phone numbers are available on our website. Any distress, you call this number and we are able to know. There is also an oversight and community feedback mechanism where the Ministry in collaboration with International Organisation for Migration (OIM) has established this mechanism to facilitate continuous monitoring of the private employer agencies. They are now there. We have a system where one has to go for vetting once their license expires. This is done before it is extended for another year. Documents are brought from the Attorney- General, National Intelligence Service and other offices. People are at times not allowed to continue working because they have been shown to be undertaking unscrupulous deals. Therefore, vetting is undertaken to ensure that the oversight is done well. We also have pre-departure training and orientation. I was in Mombasa this week where we opened the Saudi House. In that house, people going overseas will be taught how to work if they will be employed as house girls. With that help, they will not put shoes in the microwave. They will also have an understanding of how to separate clothes when using the washing machine. They will also know that they should not use the dish washer to wash clothes. We are also collaborating with governments, agencies and organisations. A good example is Germany. There is a group interested in setting up a German Hospital in Kenya to teach people how to work in a German facility before they leave to go and work there. This will reduce conflict when people go overseas. We also have capacity building of private employment agencies on ethical recruitment and it is ongoing. It is all explained there. Part ‘c’ of the Question is on the cases of passport confiscation involving Kenyan migrant workers. The law is clear. The Kenyan law and BLMA that we sign do not allow Kenyans to have their passports confiscated. This habit has been going on for a long time in some countries. With the new international labour organisations, there countries like Kenyan, for example, have laws that prevent people from handing over their passports to their employer. The passport is their document. We have asked them to report to the Kenyan Embassy if the employer asks them to hand over their passport to them. If I hear of any case, I call the relevant Minister in that country who then works on it. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
},
{
"id": 1525645,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1525645/?format=api",
"text_counter": 32,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "The Cabinet Secretary for Labour and Social Protection",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "A country such as Saudi Arabia has set up a desk to deal with Kenyan complaints. In their Ministry of Labour, they have an officer and a unit dedicated to dealing with Kenyan issues. With that, they can move with speed when there is a complaint to ensure that their citizens are adhering to the set laws. There is a question on breakdown of reported cases of abuse against Kenyan migrant workers from 2019 to date. We have had cases from several countries as listed there. The good thing is that the numbers are going down because of this reportage. I was in the Middle East and I visited countries such as United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and other countries, where I met senior officers at my level. What came out is that we have to talk to Kenyans on their attitude and how to live in foreign countries. We want to protect Kenyans so that they are treated fairly. I went to one country where a Minister told me that at one point had Kenyans, Philippines, Europeans, Indians, Americans and Canadians held in one place because they were being deported out of the country. During that time, there was a problem with internet, hence delay of one week in processing the documents. Everybody was told about the problem, but the Kenyan cohort that was there rioted, yet it was the smallest group. They caused a number of distractions. They asked me what is special about Kenyans. He said that people from other countries did not revolt. I told them that we will train our people on patience. They also said that Kenya provides the lowest number of workers from overseas in their countries. However, if you google in social media, the highest number of people attacking their countries are from Kenya. They asked me what is wrong with Kenya. I got this complaint from six countries. They said that Kenyans are the ones who are always complaining on social media. We are training our people and telling them that we will fight for their rights. However, they should also use the right channels to raise their complaints without ruining the chances for others. Because of the complaints, the quota for Kenyans going overseas has been reduced. They prefer Ugandans, Ethiopians and South Africans. They said that Kenyans are good workers, but they can also be big headed. We are having attitude training to teach our young people who have grown up in an activist system that they should leave their activism nyumbani. They should go there and follow the system. If they have a problem, we will bring them back home. However, they should not go there and start maandamano in a foreign country. We have also set up shelters for repatriation in some of these countries. I want to commend the State Department of Diaspora Affairs under the Prime Cabinet Secretary, Hon. Musalia Mudavadi. The Permanent Secretary is doing a wonderful job in terms of having safe houses and people are coming back home."
},
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"id": 1525646,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "The Cabinet Secretary for Labour and Social Protection",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "We are on top of things. I have ensured that we provide access of good employment opportunities for Kenyans. We are also providing ways of protecting our people. I want to thank the hon. Member for these good questions. The rest of the information is on the written document."
},
{
"id": 1525647,
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"text_counter": 34,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Kingi",
"speaker_title": "The Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Sen. Mumma, do you have any supplementary question. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
},
{
"id": 1525648,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1525648/?format=api",
"text_counter": 35,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Mumma",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I have two supplementary questions. Thank you, Cabinet Secretary for that answer. The answer makes one believe that we have a perfect system in place. However, you will agree with me that two weeks do not pass before we are told of a case of a female domestic worker who is stuck on a third or fourth employer. One who does not have their passport, critically sick or dead thus help is sought from Kenyans for them to come back home. I do not think that answer has spoken to those issues. My first supplementary question is; do we have a programme that sensitizes Kenyans on the system that you are talking about? Remember the domestic workers you are talking about possibly are not on social media. They will not go to a website to see the safeguards that you have. Do we have a sensitization programme that reaches out to the vulnerable possible migrant workers who need to know what working abroad entails? Does the Ministry’s agreement with the agencies provide in detail the need for the agency to provide all the information you are talking about? Does it tell the worker where they can report if they have a problem? Does it tell them where the consular is and what legal aid they can get? Can this Senate be provided with copies of the agreements that you have with these agencies, including the list of the accredited agencies for recruiting for migrant workers? I thank you."
},
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"id": 1525649,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1525649/?format=api",
"text_counter": 36,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Kingi",
"speaker_title": "The Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Hon. Cabinet Secretary, proceed."
},
{
"id": 1525650,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1525650/?format=api",
"text_counter": 37,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Alfred Mutua",
"speaker_title": "The Cabinet Secretary for Labour and Social Protection",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir and Hon. Sen. Mumma. The system is not perfect, but it is working. I can proudly say that within the last three months we have not had any reported cases of people getting their passports confiscated or dying out of what you may call abuse or distress in these foreign countries. Kenyans are now empowered. They now reach their embassies and our attaches are able to deal with those issues before they escalate. We also have issues where people go to countries for a particular job and then they quit and become runaways. They are out of status. In the United States of America (USA) they are called illegal immigrants. This is because they went to work somewhere, but they quit and are now out in the streets. We have had cases where those people get into trouble. We are trying as much as possible to get them back into the system, but they need to come back home. We have a number of Kenyans who talk about distress, but they do not want to come back home. They still want to do their chini chini manenos over there, yet they are out of status and are illegal in some of these countries. I would also like to report here that we have quite a number of Kenyans in some foreign countries who have given birth to children. The children are still with them, but we are trying to get them back here. For the children to come back, the mother needs to come back too because we require a Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) test to match theirs. We have realised that some children are given to somebody na mtu anaambiwa ampelekekwa mama yake . The child is not yours and you also do not want to be accused of child trafficking. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
},
{
"id": 1525651,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1525651/?format=api",
"text_counter": 38,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Alfred Mutua",
"speaker_title": "The Cabinet Secretary for Labour and Social Protection",
"speaker": null,
"content": "The second question was on sensitization. We are about to embark on a nationwide communication programme, which was halted because we did not have enough budget to undertake it. I will be going across the country holding meetings with communities, chiefs and elders, so that they understand what happens when their children go overseas to get employment. In addition to that, before they leave the country, all these employees are taken through sensitization. They are sensitized about their rights. Given the right documents and taken through process of reporting to the nearest embassy. Those documents are given to them with proper orientation, which they have to undertake. The agencies have also been told that before anybody goes overseas, all their boxes have to be ticked, including that of orientation. They are obeying. Since I came in, I have indicated that if you do not obey, then you are de-registered. We will provide this House a list of the agreements and all other documents that have been requested. I submit."
}
]
}