Ugandans working in the Middle East have called upon the government to review and strengthen the laws governing foreign labour exports, following numerous difficulties that have led to the loss of their lives.
Workers in the Middle East said the government is taking long to intervene, yet they have been complaining about their employers, who have continuously tortured them, denied them health care treatment when sick, denied them food, and at times killed them due to petty issues or none at all.
According to one of the workers interviewed by journalists on April 30, 2024, she has been made to forcefully stay at her employees house for three years and one month, yet her contract expired a long time ago.
“I was supposed to be back in Uganda 3 years ago but my employees have refused to let me go and even confiscated my passport. When I wrote to the Ugandan embassy where I am, they wrote emergency documents to my employees and told them to let me go. However, they have refused to do so and just keep threatening me whenever I remind them that they told me I would be released after the Ramadan month,” the stranded worker said.
During an interview with journalists, the Executive Director of Migrant Workers Voice Organization, Abdallah Kayonde, said that the government needs to intervene because the harassment from the Arabian employees towards the Ugandan workers is worsening, mostly in the UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Bahrain.
Kayonde said that employees have continuously taken their passports from them and forced them to stay after contact expiration, while others face torture and harassment from the companies themselves that hire them on behalf of the Arabs.
“These workers contact the Ugandan embassies in the said countries for help once they are facing difficulties, and they intervene, but their Arabian employees refuse to let them go, threaten them, and keep them in their homes against the workers will,” Kayonde revealed.
He further urged the government to address such issues during the Labour Day celebrations on May 1, 2024, because Uganda is one of the countries involved in foreign labour exports and many Ugandans go there to make money.
Kayonde also asked for the government to put up more agencies in the Middle East countries so that they can be responsible for checking up on Ugandans working there.
He also requested that more rehabilitation centers be set up in Uganda once the workers return because most of them come back mad and mentally unstable due to the harsh working conditions faced in the Middle East.
