Government, Arab states to sign labour export deals
Ministry of Gender permanent secretary Pius Bigirimana speaks to journalists at Parliament yesterday. PHOTO BY FAISWAL KASIRYE
Parliament. To stop the abuse of Ugandans searching for greener pastures, the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development is in the final stages of signing bilateral labour deals with eight Arab countries.
Sources in the ministry told Daily Monitor yesterday that the labour agreements were cleared by the Solicitor General as part of government efforts to strengthen the externalisation of labour programme.
The countries include the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Somalia and Afghanistan. Daily Monitor understands that government last month negotiated and sent out draft copies of the agreements to the eight countries for perusal before signing.
Mr Pius Bigirimana, the Labour ministry permanent secretary, confirmed that a team of government officials travelled to Arab countries last year to source for employment opportunities.
“Signing labour agreements between Uganda and countries of destination is to ensure that migrant workers are protected by the host countries to match labour demand and supply,” Mr Bigirimana said. “We also want to manage irregular migration and regulate recruitment by private firms exporting labour.”
He said in the agreements, they have provided that apart from the basic salary, overtime is paid where work is performed beyond normal working hours plus medical insurance, annual leave, terminal benefits and a free air ticket at the expiry of the contract.
