Ethiopia Begins Deployment of Legal Workers to UAE

Addis Ababa August 29/2019 Ethiopia has officially begun to deploy domestic workers to United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday following the ratification a new legislation that upholds maltreatment of its citizens.

In 2013, Ethiopia has outlawed the deployment after reports of human rights abuse and complaints that employment agencies entice Ethiopians into working overseas unlawfully in atrocious situations.

The employment in the UAE was officially launched on Wednesday as per the bilateral agreement between the governments of Ethiopia and UAE, which was inked last February.

Speaking at the occasion, Labor and Social Affairs Minister, Ergoge Tesfaye said the agreement would enable the workers to serve in safe environment where their rights and benefits will be realized.

Ethiopia has banned overseas employment to Middle East countries in 2013 owing to the abuse of migrant workers, which forced the government to introduce a revised overseas employment proclamation in 2016.

In spite of the revised proclamation, the ban to send workers to Middle East countries was not lifted.

However, the government signed a bilateral agreement with four countries, namely Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and UAE to start sending workers legally this year.

The minister said the workers would be deployed in the destination countries if and only if they are able to take short term training and get approval certificate.

Close to 500 workers have already got approval certificate to go and work in UAE, it was learnt.

Ergoge lauded the move taken by the government of UAE to make legalize about 30, 000 Ethiopian workers, who made their way to UAE illegally before February, 2019.

Director of Bilateral International Relations at Ministry of Human Resource and Emiratization of UAE, Abdulla AL-Nuaimi asserted that the government of UAE would work to protect the rights of Ethiopian workers who make their way to UAE as per the agreement.

Following the introduction of law to tackle illegal migration in 2017, some 130 private domestic workers recruitment agencies in UAE were shortlisted to 36 since they failed to meet the criteria provided in the law, he revealed.