The ministry of labour is in the process of streamlining policies for job seekers to explore employment opportunities overseas.
Speaking to the Media in Mombasa on Friday, Labour Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani said this will ease unemployment in the country through an elaborate pre-departure training, language, culture, rights education to those going for foreign jobs.
‘’We will sign a bilateral agreement frame work for Kenyans to work abroad, which will extensively address their welfare, housing, transport and home visits when they want to reunite with their families back home,’’ noted Yatani
The CS said there are opportunities in the UAE and Jordan among other countries who have a deficit of skilled workers available in the country.
He said the ministry is working to harmonize outdated labour relations policies to fit current economic demands.
“Labour is the most important factor of production and its contribution cannot be underrated” observed CS Yatani
He said the ministry is working on a national wages policy to harmonize the entitlements for workers, adding that it is the first in the country and will narrow on minimum wage saving the workers from manipulation.
He said labour relations is a thorny issue in the country since employers need to make profits and when there is a surge in workforce many tend to lay off workers to avoid expenses.
He noted the ministry is devising an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) channel than the aggressive court processes that ruin relationships between aggrieved parties.
“I constituted and gazzetted a 13 member committee to look into the ADR which will help decongest the courts and avoid the adversarial court processes that ruin relationships” Ukur observed.
By Joseph Kamolo
