KEWOPA calls for ban on Saudi Arabia employment
The Kenya Women’s Parliamentary Association (KEWOPA) has urged the government to provisional suspend the employment of Kenyan workers in the Middle East.
Speaking at a press briefing, KEWOPA chair Gathoni Muchomba said Kenyans working in the Middle East, and especially in Saudi Arabia, have in recent times been exposed to sexual violence, plus physical and mental abuse.
“We are pleading with the government to regulate agencies taking our girls, sisters, and mothers to the Middle East,” said Wamuchomba, who also is Githunguri lawmaker.
“There is a need for an intensive multi-sectoral engagement with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Labour, and Social Protection, plus the State Department of Immigration to substantially work towards a long-term solution.”
She added: “We recommend the government puts a stop to these employment opportunities until protection measures are taken. Kenyans do not deserve such kind of cruelty.”
KEWOPA also called on the relevant government authorities to furnish them with a list of agencies and the number of Kenyans currently working in the Middle East.
Nominated Senator Veronica Maina, who is the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) secretary-general, further asked Kenyans to ignore employment opportunities in the Gulf.
“We empathize with families that have lost their loved ones through assault cases in Saudi Arabia. Such things should not be happening in this age and time. Much as we encourage our young people to seek employment opportunities in the diaspora, we also encourage them not to sign employment contracts without legal advice.”
She called on a change of law to ensure Kenyans in Saudi Arabia have their passports with them at all times.
Employers in Asian countries normally retain employees’ travel documents until the end of their contract.
The message by KEWOPA comes a few days after Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli also called for a government ban on employment agencies brokering job opportunities to Kenyans in the Middle East.
Atwoli was responding to a video showing a Kenyan mother breastfeeding puppies in Saudi Arabia.
Records by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs show 89 Kenyans have died in Saudi Arabia in the past two years.
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