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Uganda and UAE sign MoU to protect workers
Labour Minister Hajat Janat Mukwaya
The government of Uganda and its counterpart the United Arab Emirates have finally come out to solve the issues that have been the labor exportation.
Addressing the press at the Uganda media Centre on Friday this week, Janat Mukwaya the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, her Ministry together with the Ministry of Human Resource and Emiratisation of the United Arab Emirates signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of man power and domestic worker protocol aimed at protecting the rights of external labor on 26th June in the Kampala.
According to Janat, the MoU seeks to establish a mechanism to discuss and exchange ways through which labor related problems can be resolved.
The MoU seeks to ensure that the employer meets all recruitment fees and the burden of recruitment fees that has always been burden.
“The terms and condition of a Ugandan worker shall be defined by an individual worker and her employer through a contract and copies of the contract shall be sent to the company and the embassy,” she added.
Mukwaya added that after the signing of the MoU, Uganda shall send 80,000 workers to UAE to add to the 40,000 who are already working there. “After signing, my colleague challenges me to send more 80,000 workers to UAE in the period of one year”
Before the labor is exported we shall make sure that the worker signs a contract specifying the terms and conditions of employment as stated in the contract contained in all employment offers.
Labour externalization started in 2005 with the purpose of reducing the unemployment burden in the country.
Figures from Uganda Association of external Recruitment Agency indicates that between 4000 and 5000 Ugandan workers are exported monthly to the Middle East.
The UAERA chairperson Andrew Kameraho noted last week that there are over 150,000 Ugandans working in Arab countries; with 27000 in Jordan, 40,000 in Saudi Arabia, 45000 in UAE and 28000 in Dubai.
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