Q and A with National Employment Authority Director General

Edith Okoki, Acting Director General ,National Employment Authority (NEA).

Rising unemployment is giving the Government sleepless nights. As a result, the State has been coming up with several initiatives to fight the same. The Financial Standard spoke to National Employment Authority (NEA) on what it is doing to bridge the gap.

In what seems like a change of tack, many despairing Kenyans will now be dealing with the NEA. What became of the National Employment Bureau (NEB)?

What used to be NEB is what transited to the Authority with an added mandate, where among them is to improve the linkage between training institutions and industry, as well as pursuing with a view to entrenching gender equity in the workplace. Also, we are mandated to develop and implement frameworks for the elimination of child labour, develop and implement wage policies, among others.

With increased unemployment, many concerned bodies now believe that interns should be paid. Does NEA have anything definite for them?

NEA’s purpose is to seek employment opportunities for all. So we definitely have interns in mind as our ship sets sail.

What are some of the key points of your draft internship policy?

Top on the list, we expect employers to be able to pay interns, well. We also do not want perpetual interns. Meaning that we want employers to be able to take an intern for an intern, and employ them in case of a vacancy.

Does it now mean that NEA has done away with volunteerism?

Not at all. Trainees can volunteer if they so wished, but those who cannot work for free should be remunerated accordingly.

Keeping in mind that one of your main mandates is to advise on the formulation of employment policies or strategies, was it wise for the Government to extend the retirement age to 60 years?

Facts on the ground show that the move was well thought out since civil servants can retire when they attain the age of 50 years, 55 or even 60. Moreover, persons with disabilities can work to age 65 if they so wished. Also, the policy is good since succession management in Government has effectively been addressed. If someone leaves even due to natural attrition, the policy effectively looks into that as well.

How is the authority prepared to tackle the exodus of the country’s best brains?

The world is now a global village. We cannot stop people from moving, and the best that the Government can do is to give them a safe passage. In fact, restricting labour migration will not help the country in the long run. So, we have decided to leave the door open while at the same time ensuring that those working abroad are safe in all respects. To achieve that, we negotiate for better terms and working conditions for all Kenyans working abroad.

Going by the recent happenings, domestic and other low-skilled workers seem to be at the mercy of rogue recruitment agencies, what is NEA doing about it?

We have now taken up their plight quite seriously, where we ensure only thoroughly vetted agencies can deal with any migrating job seeker. If need be, we bring them up to speed with what is in store for them out there so they can make an informed decision as to whether to leave or stay home. To achieve this, we have a curriculum to that effect. And once out there, we still follow up on them so they are not taken advantage of in any way. So that we have even signed bilateral agreements with countries where foreign domestic worker exploitation has been the order of the day.

As the sole authoritative platform for employer-employee engagement, what is your message to Kenyans?

We want a system that is vibrant and can productively interact. Once that happens, there will be no need for forced regulation or compliance but rather willing adherence from all parties.

Do you have enough resources or need more funding?

Definitely. We are on a budget of about Sh200 million annually and we think this is not in any way sufficient, even if we were to bring in our own money generating activities.