Following pressure from the Kenyan government and trade unions, Qatar has closed 12 Kenyan employment agencies to ensure better treatment of migrant workers in the Gulf states.
This information came to light during a meeting between Francis Atvoli, Secretary General of KOTU and Qatar's Labor Minister Ali bin Samikh Al Marri, in Doha on Sunday.
Starch, Anand, Sunrise, Dubai, Frame, Al Adam, Absher, Al Methak, Resla, Altaan and Althabat were among the recruitment offices affected. These agencies are no longer allowed to recruit workers or engage in contract negotiations with employers.
Officials in Qatar said the agencies had broken the law and the operation was part of ongoing measures to protect the rights of employers of domestic workers.
Mr Atvoli also expressed concern about the working conditions of Kenyan workers in Qatar, urging the Qatari authorities to preserve the workers' lives and welfare.
Mr. Al Marie pledged to keep Kenyans, especially domestic workers, safe, announcing that Qatar was shutting down employment organizations that were used to smuggle Kenyans into the Middle East.
"The minister said that they are currently in the process of canceling the operations of Kenyan-owned employment agencies. At least 12 licenses have been revoked so far."
According to Kotu, the Kenyan government should develop government-to-government contacts with Qatar. This will ensure that the terms and conditions of Kenyan workers in Qatar are discussed by the government rather than by agencies.
Qatar has extended the probation period for domestic workers from three to nine months and established ceiling pricing for recruiting domestic workers as part of its efforts to streamline the labor market in the Gulf state.
In November 2021, the National Assembly Committee on Labor and Social Welfare revealed that 89 Kenyan domestic workers died in Saudi Arabia between 2019 and 2021.
Committee chairman and Mwea MP, Wachira Kabinga, said the victims died in road accidents, while others died of heart attacks among other ailments.
"Most of them died of heart attacks because of the high temperatures," he said.
On the other hand, MP Kabinga said, 200 domestic workers are being kept in deportation camps after fleeing their employer's homes due to disagreement.
“Five are hospitalised. One of them has been hospitalized for more than six years,” he said, as he urged the government to deal with the mistreatment of its citizens working in the Middle East.
He also said that 90 percent of Kenyan domestic workers have been sexually assaulted.
“Like the Philippines, Kenya should work on clear policies to come up with solutions between Kenyan domestic workers and their employers in Saudi Arabia,” he said.