By Spy Uganda Correspondent
Saudi Arabia Minister of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) Eng. Ahmed Al-Rajhi has signed a cooperation agreement with Uganda’s Minister for Gender, Labor and Social Development Betty Amongi to employ Ugandan domestic workers.
In 2017, the Ugandan government entered into a five-year labour agreement with Saudi Arabia aimed at promoting the welfare and rights of migrant workers.
Statistics from the ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development show that Saudi Arabia is the biggest labour externalization destination in the Middle East with over 150,000 Ugandans migrant workers.
However, with the effective expiry of the agreement on December 27 2022, Uganda through the ministry of Gender asked Saudi Arabia to address the different grievances of continued mistreatment and torture of Ugandan migrant workers if the agreement is to be renewed.
As if they have been sorted, today the two governments inked the new agreement which aims to regulate the contractual relationship between the workers and the employer in a way guaranteeing a sustainable mechanism to follow up the implementation of its provisions.
The agreement also aims to effectively involve all relevant stakeholders.
This comes after a series of discussions to enhance the continuation of labor cooperation between the two sides to realize common interests and preserve the rights of both domestic workers and their employers.
According to the 2021 Uganda Human Rights Commission annual report, although migration has provided employment opportunities and improved the living conditions of many Ugandans and their families, Ugandan migrant domestic workers face a couple of challenges at the hands of their employers in the Middle East, including sexual and physical abuse, withholding of salaries among others.
