DODOMA: DIASPORAS wording abroad who left the country through unofficial channels have been urged to report to Tanzanian embassies for identification and registration as part of efforts to strengthen protection of migrant workers.
Tanzanians travelling abroad for employment have also been instructed to register with their respective embassies within 14 days of arrival.
The directives were issued by Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (Labour, Employment and Industrial Relations), Deus Sangu, on Tuesday in Dodoma during the Regional Ministerial Forum on Migration (RMFM) on harmonising labour migration policies in East and the Horn of Africa.
The meeting also saw Tanzania assume the chairmanship of the RMFM from Uganda.
Mr Sangu said the government was strengthening cooperation between labour authorities and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to ensure Tanzanians working abroad were properly registered and remained in regular contact with Tanzanian diplomatic missions.
He said he had visited countries with large numbers of Tanzanian workers to sensitise them on the importance of following official procedures when seeking employment abroad.
The initiative follows concerns over cases in which Tanzanians have faced abuse after being recruited to work in foreign countries.
Mr Sangu said some workers had experienced employers withholding their passports, mistreatment, forced sexual exploitation and other forms of abuse.
“In the past, private recruitment agents were directly responsible for facilitating the deployment of Tanzanians abroad, but some abandoned the workers after they arrived in foreign countries,” he said.
He said the registration exercise had already produced encouraging results, particularly in Gulf Cooperation Council countries, where increasing numbers of Tanzanians were registering with diplomatic missions.
The minister said the government’s priority was to ensure Tanzanians working abroad could do so safely, receive assistance when challenges arose and return home safely after completing their contracts.
“Our goal is to protect Tanzanian workers by ensuring they can work safely and, when they complete their contracts and wish to return home, do so successfully without facing unnecessary challenges,” he said.
He said the government would also intensify education for young Tanzanians travelling abroad for employment over the next two years to help them understand their rights and responsibilities.
“Going abroad to work is not slavery. It is about finding employment opportunities for our young people and enabling them, as global citizens, to gain skills and knowledge abroad,” said Mr Sangu.
He said Tanzania will work with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and other regional partners to strengthen labour migration systems.
Uganda’s Cabinet Minister for Gender, Labour and Social Development, Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde, said Uganda had handed over responsibility for the forum to Tanzania after chairing it for two years.
He said Uganda had undertaken initiatives to strengthen regional cooperation and protect workers travelling abroad.
“We need to work together to ensure that when our people leave the region to work abroad, we can support them as a region,” Tumukunde said.
He said workers facing difficulties abroad should be able to access support from any of the 11 member countries under the regional framework.
The forum brought together government officials and representatives from the IOM/UN Migration and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
The meeting is expected to strengthen regional coordination on labour migration policies and improve protection for citizens from East and the Horn of Africa seeking employment abroad.
