Labour exporters ask govt to scrap job order fees
Some Ugandans wait to be cleared at Entebbe International Airport before they take a flight from Uganda to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for work. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- The executive director of KHM International Consultants Limited, Mr Ibrahim Bogere, said there has been a challenge with recruiting non domestic workers such as security guards, drivers and other professional workers.
Labour exporting companies have expressed frustration over government failure to scrap the job order fees of $30 (about Shs100,000), which is supposed to be paid for every person companies send abroad to work.
The labour exporters say government had promised to scrap the fee, which it introduced in August 2021 under the Employment (Recruitment of Ugandan Migrant Workers) Regulations 2021.
The executive director of KHM International Consultants Limited, Mr Ibrahim Bogere, yesterday said there has been a challenge with recruiting non domestic workers such as security guards, drivers and other professional workers.
He said Ugandans are losing out on a number of job opportunities as foreign companies always prioritise other countries such as Kenya and Ghana.
“Government’s proposal to suspend $30 tax on every worker exported abroad is overdue..,” Mr Bogere said in an interview.
The chairperson of Uganda Association of External Recruitment Agencies (UAERA), Mr Baker Akantambira, said recruiting companies have had a number of engagements with the government over the issue in vain.
According to the July 4 letter, the permanent secretary at Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Mr Aggrey Kibenge, wrote to three ambassadors representing Uganda in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates, seeking their opinion on the proposed amendment of the Employment (Recruitment of Ugandan Migrant Workers) Regulations 2021.
The permanent secretary said Uganda has registered a reduction in the demand for non-domestic workers.
“... The purpose of this letter, therefore, is to seek your opinion on the proposed amendment,” the letter reads in part.
Mr Akantambira also wondered why government had to write to the ambassadors seeking their opinions yet several meetings have been held to discuss the challenges.
This comes at a time when Ugandans are warming up to grab security guard jobs at the World Cup in Qatar at the end of the year.
The Gender minister, Ms Betty Amongi, was not readily available to comment on the matter. However, while meeting labour export companies last month, Ms Amongi said Cabinet had recommended that she reviews the existing laws on labour externalisation.
