The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development has suspended the activities of six labour recruitment firms for charging illegal registration and placement fees.
These include Middle East Consultants, Elite Placement Consulting, Eagle Supervision and Elite Winners Agency.
Others are Spotlight International and High Ground International.
According to James Ebitu, the Ministry’s acting Permanent Secretary, chargeable fees for Ugandan Migrant Workers abroad s Shs50,000 and should be collected only after the worker has signed an employment contract.
The said labour firms reportedly charge job seekers millions of shillings.
“We had written to all recruitment agencies, giving them two week to refund the said fees by the 17th of February 2020. We also warned them that failure to do so would lead to immediate suspension of the company’s licence,” a statement signed by Ebitu reads in part.
As of midnight, February 17, 2020, the said companies had not complied.
“Consequent to the above, these companies have been suspended, and have been directed to desist from any acts of labour and externalization from February 18th, 2020. Anyone dealing with them does so at his or her own risk,” he said in a statement.
This is the second time the services of Middle East Consultants are being suspended this year, following an earlier suspension on January 10. This followed complaints of several young people that the company had took their money to deploy them, which was not done within the agreed time.
The suspension was lifted two weeks later following a meeting between the complainants and the company.
“We brought the complainants and the company together and they signed a Memorandum of Understanding where the company agreed to refund the money they had received from the complainant,” the Director of Labour, Martin Wandera noted in January.
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