Kenyan Govt Gets Serious On Fake Recruitment Agencies.

Kenya has introduced measures to lock out unscrupulous foreign employers from the local labour market in an effort to deal with rising cases of job placement scandals.

The acting Foreign Affairs PS Patrick Wamoto, issued a directive yesterday making it mandatory for international employers and employment agencies to submit regular returns with details of the jobs they are offering, the employers they are recruiting for, location, terms of services and remuneration among other labour information to local counterparts before they can hire Kenyans to work in foreign countries.

According to the directive, which had special emphasis to the Middle East agencies, Kenyan private employment agencies will in turn submit their recruitment returns to the Ministry of Labour for vetting, accreditation and monitoring.

“Kenyans seeking employment abroad will also be required to verify the authenticity of any employment contracts with the Ministry of Labour,” said Mr Wamoto.

The PS said that the government is also finalising bi-lateral labour agreements between the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Labour, Youth Affairs and the State Law office, and various Middle East countries to guide the process.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will also upon request verify individual job offers with relevant authorities of the intended country of employment,” read the statement in part.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it is currently dealing with an average of 30 distressed migrant workers daily in its missions in the Middle East in need of help to return to the country, most of whom are fleeing unbearable working conditions, open abuse and exploitation.

“Majority of migrants who fall in this category often fail to authenticate the job offers with relevant authorities before setting out for their destinations and as a result are duped into signing blanket illegal non-binding contracts,” said Mr Wamoto.

“Failure by the migrants to register with the nearest Kenyan embassies or consulates also makes it difficult to determine their whereabouts, rendering them vulnerable to the abusive conditions,” he said.

Human resource experts reckon that even though there is need to thoroughly vet of the agencies, the process should not lock out genuine agencies. “With globalisation and the high unemployment rates in the country, it is impossible to stop people seeking employment outside our borders,” said Ms Mercy Nduku, group human resources manager, AAR Holdings Limited. “However, people seeking jobs should ensure they understand the nature of work being offered and should sign contracts upfront before travelling,” said Ms Nduku. “In most cases, the job on offer is over stated just to attract as many people as possible making it important for job seekers to contact relevant authorities in the respective countries the companies operate to find out if they are registered or not.”

The move comes at a time when there have been rising cases of unsuspecting job-seekers being conned of huge sums of money by shadowy agents advertising non-existent jobs.