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Migrant workers demand pay rise
Mr Aggrey Kibenge, the permanent secretary of the Labour ministry.
What you need to know:
- The executive director of the organisation, Mr Abdallah Kayonde, told this publication that Ugandans working in Saudi Arabia earn about Shs700,000 as starting salary while their counterparts from other countries pocket a monthly pay of not less than Shs1.6 m.
Migrant Workers’ Voice, a labour organisation, has tasked government to push for the increment of salaries for Ugandan migrant workers in Saudi Arabia to bridge the salary gaps between Ugandans and non-Ugandans.
The executive director of the organisation, Mr Abdallah Kayonde, told this publication that Ugandans working in Saudi Arabia earn about Shs700,000 as starting salary while their counterparts from other countries pocket a monthly pay of not less than Shs1.6 m.
Mr Kayonde suggested that the pay for Ugandan migrant workers should be increased to a minimum of about Shs1.5m.
He noted that salary enhancement should be one of the key issues considered in the bilateral labour agreement that will be signed between the governments of Uganda and Saudi Arabia.
“One of the core issues that the migrant workers are looking to have addressed is the minimum wage offered to Ugandan migrant workers. It is appalling that workers from other countries, who do the same work in the same locations in the Middle East, earn a much higher minimum wage. This is because these countries had this clause catered for in their bilateral agreements with these countries,” Mr Kayonde said.
Saudi Arabia is one of destinations in the Middle East where Ugandan migrant workers seek both formal and informal employment.
According to the Labour ministry, an estimated 200,000 Ugandans are working in Saudi Arabia.
Mr Kayonde also noted that workers from other nations are not mistreated and abused like Ugandans because they have stringent clauses in their bilateral agreements.
“Ugandans on the other hand are denied justice and other health services even when they are visibly in need of these services. They are denied basics like food and sleep, leading some to commit suicide or suffer debilitating health complications or death,” he said.
He also called for the introduction of an insurance and a social welfare fund to cater for migrant workers and getting their views before the agreement is signed.
While responding to the concerns raised by migrant workers, the permanent secretary of the Labour ministry, Mr Aggrey Kibenge, said salary is not part of the bilateral labour agreement between the two governments.
“Salary is a matter to be handed under the standard employment contract signed between the employer and the recruitment companies in Uganda and in the destination countries,” Mr Kibenge said.
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He revealed that the government-to-government discussions have not focused on bilateral labour agreement, but rather the broad areas of cooperation, the responsibilities each party has to ensure such as safety and regular migration.
