Malawi govt warns job recruitment agencies over Kuwait labour export: ‘We will prosecute you!’

Malawi Government has come out punchy, warning job recruiting agencies that they risk prosecution should employers face problems in countries where they have been sent.

Principal Secretary for Labour Patrick Kabambe’s warning comes in the wake of reports that 12 more girls are stuck in Kuwait where they were sent by a local recruiting agency but discovered that the working conditions were extremely poor and were not given jobs they were offered in Malawi.

“We will charge all recruiting agencies which do not comply with our labour rules and regulations with human trafficking related offences,” said Kabambe.

He said it was the responsibility of the recruiting agencies to ensure there are written working conditions for prospective employees and that they are offered the very same job they applied in Malawi.

Kabambe said before sending prospective employees abroad, the government through the ministry of Labour must be informed so that it can scrutinise all the paper work and link up with the prospective employer to avoid problems.

The government has spent huge sums of money in the recent past to repatriate some Malawians who were dumped in Arab countries including Kuwait after being promised lucrative jobs.

Some girls are forced into prostitution once they arrive in the Arab countries whilst men are hardly paid their monthly salary.