Germany agrees to take Kenyan workers.
September 16, 2024
President William Ruto and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at State House, Nairobi in May 2023 after initiating their migration deal Image: PCS
THE Kenyan and German governments have agreed to a migration system that will allow skilled and semi-skilled Kenyans to work in Germany while protecting their rights, in a deal signed in Berlin on September 13 by President William Ruto and Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The agreement is designed to address the labour market needs of both countries, providing a structured framework for the migration of skilled workers.
While Germany is struggling to fill jobs, it is the opposite in Kenya where the economy has not been able to provide employment for the one million workers entering the labour market each year.
The agreement is expected to significantly increase access to decent foreign jobs for Kenyan workers in Germany, contribute to their socio-economic development through remittances and skill transfers and address labour shortages in Germany.
The deal includes mechanisms to protect the rights and welfare of Kenyan migrant workers in Germany, ensuring safe, orderly and productive migration.
According to the agreement, young Kenyan techies, of which the country has in abundance, will be allowed to enter and work in Germany, even without formal qualifications.
Doctors, nurses and teachers are also expected to take part in the programme.
Kenyans will also be issued with long-term visas to study or do vocational training in Germany, according to the agreement, which explains: ‘On the expiry of the long-stay visa, Kenyans may receive a temporary residence permit for study purposes in Germany for up to two years.’
The agreement was reached after a second round of technical negotiations for the Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement between Kenya and Germany was successfully concluded in Nairobi in May this year.
This week, while welcoming five Kenyan bus drivers in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, its Transport Minister, Claus Ruhe Madsen, said Germany was in need of hard-working hands and clever minds.
“We simply have to position ourselves in Germany in such a way that it is attractive to come here,” he said.
Although many see the agreement as a way of scuppering the illegal activities of human traffickers, others are worried about the effect this will have on crucial sectors in Kenya such as health and education.
But the International Labour Organisation noted: “The successful conclusion of these negotiations reflects the strong cooperation between Kenya and Germany.
“It underscores the commitment of both countries to enhancing bilateral relations through strategic partnerships in labour migration.”
Ruto and Scholz, in their meeting in May 2023, had emphasised the importance of skilled labour migration between the two nations.
Correction: An earlier version of this story put a figure on how many Kenyan workers would be allowed into Germany under the migration deal. The German Interior Ministry has now said that the agreement did not mention a specific number
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