The Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU-Kenya) Secretary General Francis Atwoli has scathingly attacked the National Employment Authority for fuelling the exportation of labour without adequate safety measures to overseas countries.
He has called for the immediate disbandment of the authority, terming it the chief agent of modern-day slavery.
Atwoli, who also doubles up as the President of The Organisation of African Trade Unions Unity (UATUU), remarked that NEA should be domiciled as a department in the Ministry of Labour.
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: NEA is an agent of modern slavery: plain and simple. It should not be a standalone authority. We must oppose the export of domestic workers and unskilled labour, especially to the Gulf region,” Atwoli posted on his official X account.
Atwoli, the Kenya Plantation and Agricultural Workers’ Union (KPAWU) Secretary General since 1994, is attending the China-Africa Trade Union Leaders Seminar held in Beijing, China, organised by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU).
Similarly, serving as the titular member of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Atwoli further called for the immediate suspension of the laws that permit the operation of labour agencies.
He castigated the overseas labour hiring agencies for sending young people to countries like Saudi Arabia, without conducting any assessment of the working conditions they will face.
“Many of our youth end up in inhumane situations, forced to work for people who believe they ‘own’ them, like slaves. You’ve seen these stories on television,” he lamented.
Formed in 1925, ACFTU is the national trade union centre and the people’s organisation of the People’s Republic of China.
It’s the largest labour organisation in the world, boasting over 302 million members.
Under the ACFTU seminar’s theme, “China-Africa Community of Shared Future and the Role of Trade Unions,” it calls for the close integration of Sino-African relations, as more Chinese investors are increasingly keen on investing in the continent.
It’s a platform to further enhance the friendly exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and African trade unions.
“To consolidate and bolster the shared interest of developing labour relations between China and Africa.”
The engagement forum offers the stakeholders a perfect opportunity to formulate ways of building conducive labour relations and enhancing the sustainable development of Chinese industries in Africa.
“Instead of exporting our workforce, we need mechanisms to grow our own economy and create employment opportunities within Kenya. Kenya has long been a hub of economic activity in the region,” Atwoli advised.
He decried that Ethiopia’s GDP has overtaken that of Kenya, despite the latter leading the pack until recently in East Africa.
“We need to go back to the drawing board. We must implement policies that attract investors,” appealed Atwoli, who has been Cotu’s boss since 2001.
