State vows to protect Kenyan seafarers from exploitation

The government has expressed its commitment to supporting and protecting Kenyan seafarers from exploitation by what it has termed as unscrupulous employers.

This is after numerous reports emerged about some seafarers being abandoned abroad as others lose lives due to poor working conditions and inadequate safety measures on board vessels.

Addressing the press Wednesday, Shipping and Maritime Affairs Principal Secretary Geoffrey Kaituko said they are available to support any seafarer who gets into problems while working in a vessel.

"We are working closely with relevant agencies including their unions to ensure these workers get the better terms of service as we encourage them to ensure they seek opportunities only from credible companies," he said.

He added: "The thing about the maritime sector is that it is a highly regulated sector, employers are held to high standards."

A seafarer is someone who is employed to serve aboard any type of marine vessel.

Kenya, he pointed out, is a signatory to the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC) of 2006 which obligates it to ensure that its seafarers recruited by other companies are protected and their welfare safeguarded.

The Convention, known as “MLC, 2006” came into force on 20 August 2013 – effectively becoming binding in international law and establishing minimum working and living standards for all seafarers on those ships.

According to Kaituko, Kenya currently has a total of 11,000 seafarers working for various companies as per the latest statistics.

The PS announced plans to conduct a census and streamline the sector by ensuring they produce the Seafarers Identification Document (SID).

“The Kenya Maritime Authority and the Immigration department have been given a directive by the president to ensure we get to produce these documents as soon as possible so that our seafarers are properly identified wherever they are,” he said.

Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua has already appointed members of the Seafarers Wages Council.

Consultations are in place to appoint the council's chairperson ahead of its inauguration.

Workers will be presented by COTU representatives Atie Swaleh, David Kibuyu and Bruno Otiato in the council while employers will be represented by FKE representatives Naum Tororei, Stephine Obiro, and Bwanaheri Lali.

Mutua also nominated Hamisi Banton to represent the Ministry of Labour.

Painting a picture of some of the seafarers, the PS revealed that the government recently evacuated some of them who had been abandoned in Oman, Egypt and Madagascar by their employers.

In the most latest incident, he stated that a worker lost his life while working aboard a vessel.

The government has since helped to successfully repatriate the body back to the country, he added.

He also used the opportunity to urge the workers to engage with agencies that are registered to avoid a situation where their welfare may be compromised.