EDITORIAL
The Member of Parliament for Kira Municipality Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, has asked parliament to create a fund to help Ugandan workers who face problems while working abroad. He wants this fund to help workers return home if they are mistreated or get stuck in another country.
Ssemujju made this proposal while discussing a report from the Committee on Gender, Labour, and Social Development about a petition by Elivanson Nabatanzi, who asked Parliament to help bring back her daughter that had gone to work as a house helper in Saudi Arabia through a company called Prime Linkages Limited.
During the discussion in Parliament, Ssemujju warned against completely stopping people from going to work in other countries because Uganda has a lot of unemployed people.
According to Ssemuju it’s important to deal with this issue practically giving an example of problems faced by domestic workers, like maids, who work in people’s homes. He said these workers don’t have the same protections as those who work in companies because each household has its own rules.
Ssemujju further asked Parliament to first address why people end up working as maids before making rules for the companies that send them abroad. He also said it’s important to quickly bring back workers who are in trouble and to have Ugandan officials in the countries where these workers are.
The Kiira munispality, mentioned that there are no consulates or embassies in Oman, making it hard for abused workers to get help. He also mentioned the difficulties faced by workers in Saudi Arabia due to its large size.
