The Ugandan government has taken action against travel and labor companies reportedly scamming and trafficking Ugandans seeking better opportunities abroad.
Over 1,000 Ugandan migrant workers are reported to be stranded at deportation centers, while others are detained in prisons on accusations of prostitution, contract substitution, and human trafficking, among other issues, in the Middle East.
The Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development is running a continuous campaign on safe migration to combat the premature and unlawful exportation of labor, which has led to widespread struggles among young girls in Arab countries.
“Fellow Ugandans, the return of Ugandans benefiting from pardon by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including those who had been stranded in deportation centers and prisons across the Kingdom, has exposed the growing problem of human trafficking,” said Hon. Esther Anyakun Davinia (MP), Minister of State for Labour, Employment, and Industrial Relations.
Addressing the media at Nile Luxe Hotel in Jinja city on Friday, December 13, 2024, the minister stated that at least 27 Ugandans were repatriated last Wednesday following a Ministerial and Technical visit to the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, earlier in October this year.
Available data indicates that the majority of those returning are victims of human trafficking. Hon. Anyakun stated that Eastern Uganda accounts for the majority of the cases recorded so far.
“Of the more than 250 returns from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, nearly fifty percent appear to be from Eastern Uganda,” she told journalists, highlighting that they are trafficked through the porous borders of Uganda and Kenya to the Kenyan airport.
According to the minister, the government recognizes the risks associated with individuals being placed abroad by traffickers and understands that people cannot be forcibly stopped from seeking work abroad.
“We are aware of the high wages in the Middle East compared to Uganda, where the minimum wage for a domestic worker in the Middle East is about UGX 900,000. This is, of course, tempting to our people, given the unemployment problem in many developing countries,” she said.
The government underlines that the solution lies in introducing a safe, orderly, formal, and regular pathway for those intending to travel and work abroad.
She noted that the government established the Externalization of Labour Programme in 2005, which is regulated by Statutory Instrument No. 47, 2021, and The Employment (Recruitment of Ugandan Migrant Workers) Regulations, 2021.
Under the regulations, private companies are licensed to source and officially place Ugandans to work abroad. Under The Employment (Recruitment of Ugandan Migrant Workers) Regulations, 2021, workers may travel abroad for work through several channels, including licensed recruitment companies, where the company sources jobs from abroad, recruits, and places workers abroad.
“We have Government-to-Government arrangements, as well as individual initiatives where the worker sources the job as an individual,” she added.
According to the Ministry of Gender, Uganda has 294 active licensed recruitment agencies, which Minister Anyakun said operate on a 2-year license and are at liberty to open branches with the approval of the Ministry. Agents of companies must also be vetted and approved by the Ministry.
Uganda has Bilateral Labour Agreements with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Jordan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Qatar.
“Before traveling for work abroad, all candidates, including individual migrant workers, must go through the External Employment Management Information System (EEMIS) for clearance by the Ministry. Migrant workers must have undergone pre-departure training for 14 days at accredited pre-departure training centers,” the minister further stated.
She explained that for domestic workers, the Ministry is connected to the Musaned Visa System of Saudi Arabia, where it approves them for visa issuance. At departure, candidates are cleared through EEMIS by Immigration Officers, with a valid Interpol letter for security guards, a copy of their passport, an employment contract, an employment visa, and a valid job order.
“With this information, we hope that our people will not fall prey to traffickers who are unlikely to follow the elaborate system put in place,” she said.
Earlier in November this year, a cohort of 117 migrant workers returned, some of whom had mental health challenges.
