The much-anticipated
bilateral labor agreement between Kenya and Saudi Arabia is set to be inked
within this week.
According to
sources, Kenya’s labor Cabinet Secretary Phyllis Kandie is expected to arrive
in Saudi capital Riyadh this week to officially sign the agreement with her
Saudi counterpart Dr.Ali Al-Ghofais.
Kenya and Saudi
Arabia began labor negotiations in 2015 after Kenya banned workers from
migrating to the Middle East for domestic work and subsequently and revoked the
licenses of upto 900 recruitment agencies after reports of abuses and
exploitation Kenyans seeking to employment in Middle East
increased.
The new labor
agreement will ensure protection of rights and benefits as well as provide
reasonable work conditions for Kenyan domestic workers in the Kingdom.
However, the
agreement doesn’t include minimum wages for Kenyan domestic workers with a
source within the Kenya’s labor ministry saying that the issue of salaries will
be a matter between an employer and employee.
During the CS’s
visit, various other bilateral agreements between the 2 countries will be
signed and this comes after a recent visit to Kenya by Saudi delegation in
which Kenya and Saudi agreed to sign various cooperation pacts.
Let them consider the minimum wages too
ReplyDeleteMinimum wage is the most crucial element and should not be left out.
ReplyDelete