Today the Departmental Committee on Labour and Social Welfare chaired by Hon Kabinga Wachira (Mwea) met with former Domestic Workers in Saudi Arabia and Petitioners seeking the intervention of the National Assembly to address the challenges faced by Workers in Saudi Arabia, among them the loss of lives by some victims.
The public petition is in regard to the mistreatment of domestic workers in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other Persian countries, presented before the National Assembly by Fredrick Gaya, on behalf of the petitioners.
It seeks to compel the Kenyan government to relook its labour relations with the mentioned countries, and for the department of immigration to publish the total number of deaths of domestic workers arising from the alleged mistreatments.
The victims narrated to the Committee their experiences in the hands of Saudi Arabian employers who they say mishandled them, and barred them from leaving the houses, thus stopping them from reporting the vices to the authorities.
Some of the families indicated to the legislators that their kin have been detained due to disagreements between agents and employers, causing a stalemate that the families also claim the Kenyan Embassy is doing very little to solve.
One family that appeared before the committee today, told the MPs that their kin identified as Caroline Akiri died in Saudi and was repatriated in July this year.
A post morten was done by the Kenyan government pathologist through an intervention by the DCI but they are yet to receive the results. The Family claims that they have been told there has to be consultation with the Saudi government before they are made public to them.
The Committee has since launched an inquiry into the matter and will hold a series of meetings with stakeholders and all parties mentioned in the ongoing case, with an aim to finding a lasting solution to the recurrent cases being reported of abuse of domestic workers in the said countries.
