Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga warned Ugandans seeking employment opportunities abroad, saying there is a lot more in terms of sensitisation that government must embark on to protect them.
Kadaga made the call on Tuesday during a meeting with Domestic Violence Act Coalition members led by Tina Musuya, of the Centre for Domestic Violence. The members had petitioned the speaker over gender and equity gaps in the budget framework paper for financial year 2017/2018.
This came after Musuya, raised concern of the rising levels of gender violence at homes and in workplaces both within and abroad. Musuya says the number of Ugandans being exploited abroad as they work is too much,which needs Government intervention.
In response, Kadaga said that enough effort was not being put in place to sensitize Ugandans on the risks of employment abroad. She says that despite several concerns and several stories told, hundreds of Ugandans still continue to pursue jobs abroad despite the challenges.
She says that she has personally tried to stop some Ugandans from going abroad, but the issues of jobs and the economy cannot allow.
According to Kadaga, many Ugandans should be trained to seek employment abroad as professionals, but not as mainly domestic workers.
Several Ugandan domestic workers have continued to suffer as some of them have ended up sexually abused, while others have had their work rights violated. Some have been arrested while several others have also died.Reports of 2017 indicate that at least 48 Ugandans died in Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait in only nine months.
Uganda has so far drafted Labour Pacts with six Middle East countries of Oman, Qatar, United Arabs Emirates, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The agreements are meant to facilitate better working conditions for the Ugandans abroad.
