Migrant workers may start contributing for their retirement after a proposed law introduced a voluntary pension scheme for Kenyans working in foreign countries.
The Labour Migration Management Bill, 2023, which provides for the regulation of private employment agencies and the recruitment of workers, seeks to introduce a voluntary savings scheme for migrant workers.
Section 13(1) of the Bill sponsored by Senator Tabitha Mutinda says that the Cabinet Secretary responsible for matters relating to foreign affairs shall, in consultation with the relevant Kenya mission, promote the establishment of a voluntary savings scheme for migrant workers.
“For purposes of subsection (1), the Cabinet Secretary responsible for matters relating to foreign affairs may liaise with financial institutions in Kenya to negotiate favourable terms on the investments of any contributions that may be made,” reads part of the bill.
Speaking on Wednesday last week when unveiling the Labour Migration Desk at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport , the Principal Secretary for the State department for Labour and Skills Development Shadrack Mwadime said the retirement scheme would benefit migrant workers in their old age.
"Just like home where a civil servant gets an opportunity to have retirement benefits we want to introduce that program even to the migrant workers through this bill because most of them when they retire and come back home they normally have no savings," said Mwadime.
President William Ruto, who has decried the low savings rate among Kenyans, has also been pushing for increased participation of Kenyans in foreign labour markets.
Some Kenyans working overseas have returned after many years abroad to a life of abject poverty, with some of the money some of them sent home for various investments being pilfered.
The Ministry of Labour had also earlier last year proposed to set up a State welfare fund to which all Kenyans working abroad would be required to make mandatory contributions.
The scheme, known as the Kenya Migrant Workers Welfare Fund, seeks to provide relief assistance to migrant workers, invalidity benefits, medical assistance, and survivor benefits when a migrant worker dies.
Every migrant worker will be required to register as a member of the fund before departing the country for foreign employment.
The Migration Desk at the JKIA, Mwadime said, will assist in enhancing the safety of Kenyans going to work in the diaspora.
As a means of creating job opportunities for the millions of unemployed Kenyans, President William Ruto’s administration wants to tap into the overseas labour market that is in need of both skilled and unskilled workers.
However, increased complaints of inhumane treatment of Kenyans working in the Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia threaten to scuttle this plan, explaining the establishment of the migration desk.
Speaking during an interview in his office Mr Mwadime said that the labour migration desk at the airport will help in curbing irregular migration in order to create a safe, fair, regular and productive working environment at the diaspora.
"The operationalization of the labour migration desk is part of a government initiative aimed at curbing irregular migration with a view of achieving a safe, fair, regular and productive labour migration environment in the diaspora," he said.
Kenyans, most of whom are unemployed or underemployed, are increasingly seeking employment in foreign countries. Once there, most of them have been sending money back home to their relatives, reflecting the high inflow of diaspora remittances.
"The number of Kenyans in the diaspora has significantly increased and is estimated to be 4 Million and every day we have people going out to work both as skilled and non- skilled workers," he continued.
Mr Mwadime stated that currently the government has signed memorandum of understanding (MOUs) with key labor destination countries which include Germany, Austria, Bahrain, Oman, Poland, Jordan, Kuwait, Canada, Ireland among others.
Saudi Arabia, a country that has been mentioned adversely for mistreatment of Kenyans, has however been a major source of diaspora remittances.
Kenyans living and working in Saudi Arabia leapfrogged those in the United States to become the biggest drivers of growth in cash wired back home in the first eight months of last year, underlining the lingering effect of elevated inflationary pressures on household earnings in the world’s largest economy.
Remittances from the Middle East’s economic powerhouse accounted for nearly two-thirds of the growth in diaspora inflows in the review period, according to data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).
