Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Kenya, Saudi Arabia to meet over workers security

Kenya, Saudi Arabia to meet over workers security

The Ministry of Labour Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui will travel to Saudi Arabia within the next 30 days to meet his counterpart and discuss the pressing issue of the safety and wellbeing of Kenyans working there.
Chelugui said that he will be meeting the Saudi Arabia minister for employment and officials from the Kenyan embassy there and look at the employment relationships as well as terms and conditions that Kenyans are facing.

Speaking during a discussion at a local TV station on Wednesday evening, Chelugui said that there is an average of 97, 000 Kenyans working in Saudi Arabia adding that Cabinet passed a resolution to increase labour attaches in that country to seven from the current one person since the country is vast.

“One of the objectives is to engage deeper on the protection of our migrant workers and we need assurance on payment, basic issues like leave days, flexibility of the contracts so that in the event of any challenge between employee and the employer, the employee is allowed to change and get another employer,” said Chelugui.

Chelugui said that 97 Kenyans have died in Saudi Arabia in the last three years and some of them were not related to employment issues with some being due to natural issues and others due to sickness.

“We have requested for postmortem results and through our ministry of Foreign Affairs we are following up and we want to know the cause of the death of our 30 women who have died there,” said the CS.

On reports that 200 Kenyans are in deportation camps, Chelugui said that some of neighboring countries are reported to have 40, 000 of their people in deportation camps in Saudi Arabia so the government has taken note of this and the challenges that people go through while looking for opportunities and a source of livelihood and it is taking the right actions to assist these people.

“We have renegotiated our existing labour agreement with Saudi Arabia and we are now on the final stages of the same,” said the CS.

Chelugui said that they have introduced pre-departure training for home care workers and the handbook has been developed and it is given to the migrant workers before they leave the country and also the recruitment agencies have been sensitized on the same.

Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria said that he worked in Saudi Arabia as a professional consultant for 10 years. He advised that learning the local language is important as it makes communication and understanding between the employee and employer quite easy.

“In the first two years it was very difficult for me to work there but once I learnt the local language I was able to cope well with the situation,” said Kuria.

Faith Murunga who survived being burnt with hot water by her employer in Saudi Arabia said that there are many Kenyans waiting for deportation and it is very hard for them to come back home since they have escaped from some sinister employers who were torturing them and the employers come up with allegations that they stole from them so the employees are taken to jail.

“We would like to see a situation where, if there are such allegations of theft, both the employer and the employee should be called to give their side of the story since there is no way the employee can be accused of stealing gold and there is no evidence or exhibit to prove the same,” said Murunga.

Lorna Jerop who has worked in Saudi Arabia said that is not all gloom since she had a good stay there making a good income.

Jerop said that a house care worker on contract earns and average 900 Saudi riyal which translates to roughly Shs.25, 000 but she was able to move from different employers and could earn average of 75, 000 per month that is 2, 500 riyals.

“When I first arrived in Saudi Arabia I worked in the first house for six months and then I ran away, luckily I moved from one employer to another finding better paying opportunities and I was able to work there for four years,” said Jerop.

She advised that the fees that agents get from employers of around Shs.300, 000 makes the employers feel like they bought the employees advising that the money paid by employers to bring employees to Saudi Arabia should be reduced to around Shs.150, 000 and the salary increased to Shs.45, 000.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
×