The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has charged an inter-ministerial task force and the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), to closely monitor the activities of recruitment agencies who seek employment for individuals in the Middle East.
The sector Minister, Hanna Tetteh explained that this will curb the ill-treatment meted out to Ghanaian migrants who gain employment outside.
[contextly_sidebar id=”13qKMXUR1GvPurtKiOMzmcmfjS7KkK3d”]In 2015, over 2,000 women who migrated from Ghana to some Middle East countries to seek greener pastures, were reported to have been maltreated by their employers.
This was after investigations by the GIS, revealed that the victims were assisted by fake recruitment agencies who assured them of job opportunities with good working conditions.
Speaking at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Government of Ghana, and some Ghanaian and Jordanian recruitment agencies in Accra on Wednesday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hanna Tetteh, charged the agencies to ensure the safety of persons they recruit.
“We have to ensure that people you have attracted to go and work outside are people who you will ensure that you are not subjected to violence. They knew what jobs they were going to do and they were ready to do it. For as long as they are doing those jobs safely and without physical abuse, that’s alright. But if they get into the kind of crisis situation we have seen happen over and over again, we as a Foreign Ministry will face prosecution should it be found out that you have neglected your responsibility.”
She also counseled the agencies to devise measures to repatriate their recruits when they are abused by their employers.
“It is also important for you to have your own mechanisms and that means that you have to think about retaining some amount of funds to be able to repatriate these people when they have been abused by their employers and they are looking to leave the country because the fact of the matter is that, when you are recruited into low wage employment, you don’t have the money to buy a plane ticket.”
Offer good conditions
On his part, the Labour and Employment Relations Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, called on the recruitment agencies to offer good working conditions for Ghanaians who are seeking employment since most of them are not treated well when they are recruited.
“Many of them have to run to embassies when they are not paid…Our immigration officers are sometimes also subjected to some of this unacceptable behavior…” the Minister said.
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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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