Speaker of Parliament Anita Among has vowed to reign in on the growing mistreatment of Ugandan workers in foreign countries, some of which has resulted into death, life threatening and permanent injuries.
Speaking in a meeting with the leadership of Uganda Association of External Recruitment Agencies (UAERA) on Thursday, Ms Among said legal regimes in externalisation and regulation of migrant labour must be operationalised, noting that there was need to also conduct due diligence on the companies involved to stop duping Ugandans.
This, she added, must also include registration of migrant workers in the receiving countries as well as ensuring that they are helped when need be.
“It saddens me [that] Ugandans, especially young girls suffer in these countries in the name of looking for jobs. We cannot afford to sit back while our sons and daughters continue to suffer and die,” Speaker Among said, before she referred the matter to the Parliamentary committee on Gender, Labour and Social Development for further scrutiny.
“I will refer your memorandum to the committee so as to inform them of their legislative, oversight and appropriation undertakings,” she said, tasking the association to do self-cleaning by weeding out imposters and fraudsters who exploit Ugandans in the name of getting them jobs abroad.
According to the 2022 report by the Africa Institute for Strategy and Policy (AISP)—an Africa safe migration index—more than 195,000 Ugandan migrant workers are currently in Saudi Arabia.
The report also indicates that since labour externalisation gained traction five years ago, 90 cases of domestic violence are reported annually. Another 257 sickness and disease cases are reported every year, with 88 deaths.
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