Twelve Kenyan employment agencies in Qatar have been blacklisted over poor treatment of staff by the Government of the State.
Thie decision came after the talks between Central Organization of Trade Unions Secretary-General Francis Atwoli and Minister of Labour in Qatar Ali bin Samikh Al-Marri where they agreed to shut down the employment agencies that have been used to sneak in Kenyans.
The closure decision included the recruitment offices such as Starch, Anand, Sunrise, Dubai, Frame, Al Adam, Absher, Al Methaq, Resala, Altaaon, and Althabat.
“The Ministry of Labor announced the closure of 12 labour recruitment offices, and the withdrawal of the license of one recruitment office, for violating the provisions of the law, as part of the efforts of the Ministry to follow up and continuously monitor these offices, and to ensure the implementation of the decisions issued to preserve the rights of employers of domestic workers,” the statement said.
As per the decision, the closed offices may not engage in the activity of recruiting labour or concluding contracts with employers.
In the meeting, they also agreed that Kenya should establish government-to-government relations with Qatar so that the negotiations are not overseen by agencies.
Qatar’s Ministry of Labour said they had begun implementing inspection campaigns of recruitment offices to monitor their commitment to implement the decision.
The campaigns are conducted to extend the probation period for domestic workers from three months to nine months, and the decision sets the maximum prices for the recruitment of domestic workers.
There have been talks of sufferings and abuses of Kenyan employees, especially domestic workers, who continue to migrate to the Gulf in search of jobs with the help of the agents.
Qatari officials said the agencies had violated the law and that the operation was part of monitoring efforts to preserve the rights of employers of domestic workers.
Several Kenyans working in Qatar have raised several grievances, ranging from poor remuneration, physical and emotional abuse, and confiscation of their passports and travel documents by their employers.
Mr. Atwoli also raised concerns about the working conditions of Kenyans in Qatar, urging the authorities there to protect the lives and welfare of the workers.
Mr. Al Marri committed to ensuring that Kenyans, especially domestic workers, are safe, saying Qatar was closing down employment agencies that were used to illegally smuggle Kenyans into the Middle East.
Inspection teams were created to investigate recruitment agencies and ensure that the new forms of employment contracts for domestic workers are implemented.
