Kenya has already signed bilateral labour relations with Jordan.


• Labour Principal Secretary Peter Tum said the bilateral initiative will enable 35,000 Kenyans gets jobs abroad by end of June this year.

• Tum said the bilateral will also ensure safety of Kenyans working abroad as well as creating more job opportunities for other skilled citizens.
A bilateral initiative will help 35,000 Kenyans get jobs abroad by end of June.

Labour Principal Secretary Peter Tum said the government has initiated a rapid response initiative to expedite bilateral labour relations.

He said Kenya has an agreement with Jordan and is exploring other job opportunities outside the country.
Talks are ongoing with Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Tum said the MoUs will enable Kenya to export expertise to other countries, especially the Middle East.

He spoke at the National Industrial Training Authority in Kisumu.

“The government has held consultative meetings and is working closely with ambassadors of the respective nations to speed up the process,” he said.

Tum said the deals will also ensure safety of Kenyans working abroad and create more job opportunities for other skilled citizens.

Kenyan migrant workers, especially unskilled ones, have complained of physical abuse and violation of their human rights in the Middle East.

Despite the challenges, Tum said labour migration was critical in tackling the rising unemployment in the country.

He said there is a need to look for jobs abroad as the Kenyan economy is not growing as fast as the number of graduates from universities.

About 1.2 million youths join the labour market annually, but the Kenyan economy can only absorb 800,000, leaving 400,000 missing employment opportunities.
The PS noted that the ministry was working on the development of a labour migration policy and a labour migration management bill.

“The documents will reinforce the policy and legal framework on labour migration management to streamline the process and address challenges facing labour migration,” Tum said.

When adopted, the documents will help enhance orderly, safe, regular and productive labour migration of Kenyans.

Tum said that the government was in discussions with Uganda and Tanzania to adopt similar laws to facilitate a regional approach on handling labour migration.

“We hope the initiatives will address cases of unscrupulous employment bureaus that take advantage of Kenyans and sneak them to neighbouring countries thereby exploiting them,” he said.

The PS said Kenyans seeking jobs abroad will be equipped with the requisite skills to ensure that they are competitive.

“This skilling and reskilling exercise being conducted by NITA will ensure that we have the right people with the right skills for the job market,” Tum said.

It is estimated that four million migrant Kenyans are working in foreign countries according to available data by 2020.

The diaspora remittances hit more than Sh330 billion by the end 2020.

Remittances are currently Kenya’s highest foreign exchange earner, having overtaken tea, coffee and tourism.