By Spy Uganda
The ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development has Thursday suspended six labour export companies in Uganda for defrauding job seekers by making them pay extortions or ‘kickbacks’.
The companies which have been suspended include; Middle East Consultants Limited, Eagle Supervision, Elite Placement Consulting, Elite Winners Agency, Spotlight International and High Ground International.
The suspension of the above companies from engaging in any labour exportation activities was communicated in a letter by the Gender ministry’s Permanent Secretary James Ebitu, which reads thus; “Members of the Press, Colleagues from the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, you will recall that I addressed you on 4th February 2020, as a response to a number of complaints we receive, and also read in the press and social media, regarding the unscrupulous actions of charging illegal registration and placement fees by licensed recruitment agencies.
I informed you that Regulation 29 of the Employment ( Recruitment of Ugandan migrant workers abroad) Regulations, 2005, limits the chargeable administrative fees to Fifty thousand shillings (50,000).
Regulation 29(2) provides that any further placement fees must be approved by the Administration, which is our Ministry.
In addition, Regulation 29(3) provides that Placement Fees shall be collected from a Ugandan Migrant Worker after he or she has signed the employment contract.
I also informed you that we had written to all recruitment agencies giving them two weeks to refund the said fees by 17th February, 2020. We also warned that failure to do so would lead to immediate suspension of a company’s license.
Unfortunately, a number of companies have not complied with the directive and have failed to pay back these monies.
These include;Middle East Consultants Limited, Eagle Supervision, Elite Placement Consulting, Elite Winners Agency, Spotlight International High Ground International.”
Ebitu continues that “Consequent to the above, these companies have been suspended, and have been directed to desist from any acts of labour externalisation, as from 18th February, 2020.Any one dealing with them does so at his/her own risk.”
