Labour firm in trouble over nurses' export

Kampala. The Uganda Private and Unemployed Nurses association is set to sue Middle East Consultants Limited, a registered recruitment agency for Ugandans to work abroad for failing take them to work in Libya ten months after passing interviews.
They also accuse the Muyenga Tank Hill based company of defrauding them of millions of money to pay for interviews, medical fees, international travel clearance by Interpol and processing of travel documents.

A total of 359 members of this association that include nurses, midwives, psychiatrists and laboratory technicians say they were set to travel to Libya to work at the Benghazi Medical Centre where they would each earn not less than Shs3m per month.

Addressing a Press Conference at the Amazing Grace Gardens in Kampala on Monday, Mr Isaac Semakadde, the lead advocate at Centre for Legal Aid said his clients have gone through several challenges that include failing to pay loans they had got to secure their dream jobs in Libya.
Mr Semakadde said that they have already written to Middle East consultants a demand note and notice of intention to sue with the aim of ensuring that they refund all the money collected from the recruits.

“The director of Middle East Consultants Limited (Mr Gordon Mugyenyi) was given two weeks to respond to our notice but instead he engaged a lawyer who has committed to write to us by March 1, 2018. If they fail, we shall have no option but file a suit in the courts of law,” Mr Semakadde said.
The medics are demanding USD 24,000 (about Shs87,360, 000) each as the minimum of lost contractual earnings if they had been deployed at Bengazi Medical Centre in Libya. They are also each demanding Shs30m as compensation for psychological damage. The lawyers also demand Shs359m as legal fees.

One of the affected nurses, Mr Martin Madautu from Gulu told journalists that the recruitment company asked for Shs400, 000 from each of them for expressively processing passports, Shs210, 000 as interview fee nonrefundable and Shs850, 000 for clearance by Interpol.
“We were told at that time the country had run short of passports and so we needed to pay that much to get then quickly. We got our passports and yellow fever cards but other monies have never been refunded,” Mr Madautu said.

Another victim, Mr Amos Kule, a Comprehensive Nurse from Mpondwe-Lubiriha Town council in Kasese said that he spent Shs2m on all the processes of securing the Libya job.
The group that was holding placards throughout the press conference also accused Middle East Consultants of mistreating them with ‘foul language” whenever they individually follow-up on the matter.
Mr Semakadde also accused Middle East Consultants Limited of breaching laws related to recruitment of Ugandans to work in foreign countries by exaggerating information in the adverts that were run over the media.

When contacted, Mr Godfrey Kyalimpa, the Recruitment Officer at Middle East Consultants Ltd told Daily Monitor that they were aware of the intended suit adding that their lawyers of Muwema & Company Advocates are already in charge of the situation.
Mr Kyalimpa also refuted the allegations that the company failed to secure the jobs for the medics adding that it is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that stopped the process questioning how the Ugandans will be protected in Libya, where there is no foreign mission.

“For us we had secured the contract from the Libyan government. Even the Libyan ambassador to Uganda was coordinating with us but it is our Ministry of Foreign Affairs that blocked the process asking us to wait until we get an embassy in Libya that can protect these youths in case of challenges,” Mr Kyalimpa said.

Mr Kyalimpa also refuted allegations that the company had not refunded the affected recruits saying that more than 700 people affected under similar circumstances have already been refunded their Shs 210,000 that includes registration and medical fees.
He also challenged the complainants to prove whether they are not holding their passports and yellow fever vaccination certificates if they believe they were cheated in the process.
Efforts to reach Ms Margaret Kafeero, the Communications and Public Affairs Officer in Ministry of Foreign Affairs were futile as she could not pick our repeated calls. She later sent a message that she was engaged in a meeting.

[email protected]