Nominated Senator Maureen Tabitha has proposed hefty fines for private employment agencies in a bid to protect Kenyans seeking jobs.
In the Labour Migration Management Bill 2024, the Senator has proposed a Ksh10 million fine for any agency which operates without being registered.
The agency will also face 10 years imprisonment or both if it violates this new guideline.
"A person who operates a private employment agency commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding Ksh10 million or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or both," read part of the bill.
According to the bill, each agency will be required to send an application to the Director General of the National Employment Authority and wait for approval.
After application, the Multi-Agency Committee shall vet the agency including summoning the members for interviews and conducting necessary investigations in regard to the application.
When the application is approved, the agency will be required to display its certificate of registration in a conspicuous place at the premises where the business is carried out.
The certificate shall be valid for one year from the date of issuance and the agency will be required to renew it in subsequent years.
However, an application may be denied if the recruiter does not meet the requirements, provides false information, or continues non-compliance, especially if the director is convicted of human trafficking or human smuggling.
"In case a private employment agency engaged in the recruitment of workers for foreign employment, a certificate of registration shall not be issued if the applicant has not executed the security bond specified in this bill," reads part of the bill.
The certificate may be cancelled if the agency fails to file periodic returns, violates the conditions, the registration is acquired fraudulently, provides false information or fails to comply with the requirements outlined.
Meanwhile, in the bill, other fines include Ksh500,000 and one-year imprisonment or both for advertising jobs without the approval of the Authority.
The authority may decline the advertisement of jobs if the nature of employment is degrading or inhuman, the terms and conditions are unsatisfactory, or the lives of workers are endangered.
Additionally, the agency will be fined Ksh1 million or a two-year jail term or both for charging any job seeker contrary to the bill and failing to file returns, not notifying the authority of a migrant worker in distress, not keeping a record of recruited workers and failure to notify the authority of any key changes.
