Uganda government has signed a bilateral agreement with the State of Qatar to facilitate safe and formal labour externalization to Qatar.
The bilateral pact was signed by the Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Betty Amongi Akena on behalf of the Uganda government.
In her speech, Amongi noted that over 30,000 Ugandans are working in Qatar, hence the need to sign an agreement to enable an organised formal mechanism of Labour migration.
She welcomed the proposal from her counterpart, H.E Ali Bin Samikh Al Marri, the Minister of Labour of the State of Qatar for them to immediately establish a Joint technical committee to fast track the implementation of the agreement.
The two parties agreed for a follow up meeting on May 27, 2024 to assess the initial progress for the takeoff phase of implementing the signed agreement. The agreement enables externalizing skilled, semi-skilled and domestic workers to Qatar.
The two Ministers agreed on the need to monitor recruitment agencies in Qatar so as to ensure that they respect Ugandan worker’s rights, welfare, contractual obligation and ensuring that recruitment companies abide by what is contained in the labour agreements.