Government warns tour companies engaging in labour externalisation

The Government has issued a warning to tour and travel companies that are illegally engaging in labour externalisation, cautioning that they are not legally mandated to recruit or facilitate Ugandans to work abroad. 

The Minister of State for Labour, Employment and Industrial Relations, Hon. Esther Anyakun Davinia, told reporters on Thursday that there has been a worrying rise in cases where tour companies and individual agents advertise foreign jobs on social media, extort money from unsuspecting youths and either fail to deploy them or expose them to serious risks.

She warned that only recruitment companies licensed by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development are authorised to place Ugandans in employment abroad. 

“Tours and Travel Companies are not legally mandated to take Ugandans abroad for work. Of late, there are many tours and travel companies advertising through social media platforms. Others have extorted money from many youths and not taken them abroad as they purport,” she said.

“There are also agents out there claiming to take Ugandans abroad for work. The Ministry does not license individuals to take people abroad for work. Only companies are licensed.Even for licensed companies, before Ugandans sign up with them, they must verify whether the Ministry has approved the job orders the company purports to have.”

The minister was speaking at the launch of the Safe Labour Migration Awareness Campaign under the theme “Travel Safe. Stay Safe.” 

The campaign aims to educate the public on safe and legal migration processes, promote licensed recruiters, publicise complaint channels and strengthen trust in Government protection systems.

Under the initiative, ministry officials and partners will be traversing different parts of the country to educate the masses in their native languages about the benefits of following set guidelines in labour externalisation.

The minister called on the media, communities and families to work with the Government to ensure that Ugandans who choose to work abroad do so safely, legally and with dignity, stressing that safe migration begins with informed choices.

As part of the campaign, the ministry has established accessible and reliable mechanisms through which migrant workers, their families, and members of the public can seek assistance or report complaints related to labour migration. 

Any individual experiencing challenges, exploitation, contract violations, or suspected illegal recruitment is encouraged to report through the following official channels: 

• The EEMIS Complaints Module at eemis.mglsd.go.ug 

• The Migrant Help Line App – Sauti 116 

• Telephone contact: +256 414 341 250 

All complaints received through these channels are treated with seriousness, investigated promptly, and addressed in collaboration with relevant departments, recruitment agencies, and Ugandan Missions abroad. 

Uganda continues to face growing pressure from a rapidly expanding labour force, with between 600,000 and 700,000 people entering the job market annually, more than 95 per cent of them youths. 

However, employment opportunities within the country have not grown at the same pace, pushing many young people to seek work beyond Uganda’s borders in search of better livelihoods and the ability to support their families.

In response to this challenge, the Government in 2005 introduced the Externalisation of Labour Programme to create safe, formal and regular pathways for Ugandans seeking employment abroad, while also addressing unemployment in the short term.

The programme is regulated under the Employment Act and the Employment (Recruitment of Ugandan Migrant Workers) Regulations, 2021. Through this framework, Ugandans can work abroad either through licensed recruitment companies or by individual initiative. 

Currently, 246 companies are licensed to formally recruit and place workers, mostly to Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait.

Before clearance, migrant workers must sign contracts guaranteeing wages, overtime pay, medical care, compensation, repatriation in case of death and assistance in remitting earnings back home.

Hon. Anyakun highlighted that labour externalisation has created more than 280,000 jobs since 2016, generated remittances of about USD 1.3 billion last year and contributed significantly to household incomes and national revenue. 

The ministry has also strengthened monitoring through embassy oversight, pre-departure training, call centres, joint accountability contracts and a Migrant Worker Resource Centre.