Activits accuse gov’t over negligence on Labour Export

Amos Tayebwa

Mbarara

Activists that fight for workers’ rights have accused the Government of Uganda for the silence in the days when Ugandans are facing misery through labour export in Arab Countries.

Jesca Mwijuka, a representative of workers in the informal Economy at National Organisation  Trade Unions who doubles as a councilor representing workers at  Mbarara City council has come up and criticized on the way Government of Uganda  is silence on how companies are poorly handling the issue labour export. Mwijuka has  said that very many Ugandan youths have miserably suffered from the abroad in search of jobs. That labour export companies have used the advantage of Government weakness on labour export and mishandled Ugandans who have gone abroad for work.

Councilor Mwijuka as an activist of fighting for workers’ right has also revealed that there is very limited ways to rescue the Ugandans who are suffering from the Arab countries. She said that these companies that take these children abroad have not had serious terms and  conditions from this government. That there is no  serious conditions that restrict them from mishandling these workers. She added that when these companies from Uganda reach in the other countries where they are supposed to deploy these Children from Uganda, they instead sell these same workers to other Companies which are not connected or even known by Ugandan government. That these companies from Uganda are just suppliers of the other companies abroad which limits the follow-up and monitoring by the Ugandan government. That once these workers are handed over to the Companies from the other countries it means that the Ugandan Companies will no more have the capacity to go and check on the workers supplied to the other companies because some times they don’t even know where they are located.

“We have witnessed that the most suffering workers  from the abroad are the girls because for them they work in the house as maids. But for the case of the boys most of them they work in companies or factories not the houses. We have made some research and found out that the Boss Ladies are the most dangerous ones,  they normally torture the girl child in their homes sexual related issues. That there are instances when the husbands of these Boss Ladies sneak and try to use these girls  working  in there homes sexually, and unfortunately  when the Boss lady gets to know about an affair between the husband and the worker she will harass, torture or even kill  the girl. Some of these children some times get pregnant and be forced to go and abort. The victim will not even get enough treatment which sometimes results into death when even our companies from Uganda have no idea about such scenarios” said Mwijuka.

“We must blame our government especially the authorities that register and give licences to the companies that take our children. They don’t do follow-up, the companies that take these workers abroad they don’t also do follow-up and monitoring. These companies are not bothered about the incidents that we are seeing happening to our children who are being killed, mistreated from abroad due to the fact that our government and responsible authorities are reluctant on these matters, they don’t put harsh conditions on these companies. We need to fight hard, intervention as government and we rescue our children suffering from abroad” she added.

Mwijuka has appealed to the Government of Uganda especially the authorities in charge  to put heavy penalties to the companies which are careless about the Ugandan workers suffering in the Arab countries. That there should be cancellation of the licence owned by the responsible company.

” I personally in my capacity I have managed to rescue about 20 girls and boys who have been victimised in the abroad while  working. If I have happened to do that how about the government? Why doesn’t  the government put an office at the embassy specifically for the labour export where data will be collected, so that every company that takes any Ugandan girl or boy child abroad must give the report so that there can be easily an action taken once our children get challenges over there. We also need to have an MOU implemented between our government and the other Countries” said Mwijuka.

According to Aminah Nakku Tumwine, the Mbarara City Labour Officer has revealed that the Ministry of Gender,  Labour and social Development neglected the District and City Labour officers to participate in the processes of Labour Export. She said that these are the very offices that would perfectly handle the process of data collections when one wishes to go abroad for worker. She added that if government do not consider these offices to participate in registering these workers they will keep suffering from abroad because sometimes some authorities do not have enough data to follow-up  and trace those who meet challenges abroad.

“Me as a labour officer and my colleagues we request the government that we should be involved in the registration of labour export processes. We should take part on the form filled by the person who wants to go abroad for work. They should give us a part and we find out exactly if it is true that girl child or boy child is  fully allowed by his parents to go and work  abroad. We find out if the lower  Local councils are aware, we should also find out if its true that the companies taking these children are genuine. This should be our role as labour officers. This will help to trace our children once they mistreated by their Bosses from abroad” said Nakku.