The Secretary General of the Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU), Francis Atwoli, has urged the government to protect Kenyan migrant workers from abuse, intimidation and exploitation.
Atwoli, reacting to a viral video of a Kenyan worker in Saudi Arabia breastfeeding a dog, he said that the government must crackdown on criminal enterprise cartels masquerading as employment agencies for foreign countries.
The COTU boss said such practices fly against the dictates of the National values enshrined in the 2010 constitution and said the government owes Kenyan citizens the duty of care wherever they are working and living.
Speaking to the media on Sunday at his Kajiado home, Atwoli stated that there is a need to protect Kenyan migrant workers, which can be accomplished by prohibiting agencies from promoting domestic jobs, particularly in Saudi Arabia.
“This is indirect slavery, I want to appeal to our government to go the way Phylis Kandie did. She banned all employment agencies in Kenya. Let this issue be a government-to-government. Let Kenya negotiate with Saudi Arabia on terms and conditions of service… so that our people can do decent jobs and not a job of breastfeeding dogs,” he said.
He urged the government to openly negotiate terms and conditions of service for Kenyans with the government of Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries to stop abuse and exploitation.
Atwoli regretted that the woman who was filmed breastfeeding a dog left Kenya only two months after giving birth to fed for her young family.
“When they realised that she can breastfeed, the employer instead of giving her a proper job, ordered her to breastfeed his puppies. This is beastly,” Atwoli said.
Atwoli lamented that the treatment of workers in the Middle East deprives them of the dignity and respect that they deserve as human beings and Kenyans.
“It denies us our own citizenship as Kenyans who are from a free, independent and democratic country. A country that an create employment for its people,” he said.
“I humbly appeal to the government of H.E President William Ruto to ban all employment agencies and review issues related to outside employment of Kenyans as advocated by the International Labor Organization,” he added.
