By Ben MusanjeThe Government has told Parliament that Result Recruitment Company, accused of luring three Ugandan nationals with promises of jobs in Thailand before they were reportedly detained, was not licensed to recruit or place Ugandans for employment abroad.The revelation was made by Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde in a statement to Parliament responding to concerns raised by Soroti City Woman MP Joan Acom Alobo over the reported detention of Amon Kisakye, David Mushaija and Samuel Kusima at Chanthaburi Provincial Prison in Thailand.Tumukunde said the company does not appear in the Ministry’s External Employment Management Information System (EEMIS), the government platform used to manage and clear Ugandans travelling abroad for employment.“Result Recruitment Company is not a licensed company,” Tumukunde told Parliament, adding that the firm was also absent from the Ministry’s database for companies authorised to handle labour externalisation.The Minister said Uganda has established formal mechanisms to regulate the recruitment and deployment of migrant workers, but the three Ugandans appear to have travelled through a channel outside those systems.He said the Ministry had not established any arrangement for externalising Ugandan migrant workers to Thailand, making the reported case a matter for the Anti-Trafficking Unit under the Ministry of Internal Affairs.Tumukunde said the Ministry had previously received reports of Ugandans being trafficked to countries in Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia.He told MPs that investigations had not identified any licensed recruitment company authorised to externalise Ugandan workers to those countries.The Government’s response followed concerns raised by Acom after reports emerged that the three Ugandans had been promised employment in Thailand by Result Recruitment Company but ended up in detention.Tumukunde asked Acom to provide additional information about the case to support further investigations and enable authorities to identify and prosecute those responsible for allegedly trafficking the Ugandans.He also said the Ministry would coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to establish the circumstances surrounding the detention of the three Ugandans and determine the appropriate steps to protect and assist them.The Minister’s statement highlighted the broader challenges facing Uganda as increasing numbers of citizens seek employment abroad amid limited employment opportunities at home.Uganda launched its Externalisation of Labour Programme in 2005, with the twin objectives of creating a safe, formal and regular pathway for Ugandans seeking employment overseas and providing a short-term response to unemployment.However, Tumukunde stressed that labour externalisation was not intended to replace efforts to create employment opportunities within Uganda.He recalled that President Yoweri Museveni, when the programme was launched, described it as a temporary measure to cushion the country against unemployment while Government worked to expand investment in agriculture, infrastructure, industry and tourism to create more jobs domestically.Under the Employment Act and the Employment (Recruitment of Ugandan Migrant Workers) Regulations, 2021, Ugandans seeking jobs abroad can travel through two recognised channels.The first is through licensed recruitment companies that source jobs, recruit workers and place them abroad.The Ministry currently has 230 companies licensed to undertake that work.The second channel is individual initiative, where a worker independently sources employment.Regardless of the route, the Government uses EEMIS to clear migrant workers before deployment.The system requires migrant workers to have employment contracts meeting minimum standards, including guaranteed wages, overtime payment, emergency medical and dental treatment, lawful termination provisions and workers’ compensation benefits.The contracts should also provide for protection against workplace hazards, repatriation arrangements in the event of death and mechanisms for remitting salaries and allowances back to Uganda.Tumukunde warned that people seeking employment abroad must therefore use the established labour migration channels to reduce their exposure to trafficking and exploitation.He said the Ministry has intensified public awareness campaigns through newspapers, billboards, radio stations and community sensitisation programmes across the country.The Government is also working with the police to conduct operations against illegal and unlicensed recruitment agencies.According to Tumukunde, sanctions have been imposed on labour recruitment companies that breach regulations and guidelines, including attempts to deploy migrant workers outside the approved systems.The Ministry has also made pre-departure orientation and training mandatory for migrant workers as a condition for clearance.The training is intended to equip workers with practical knowledge about their jobs, their rights and responsibilities and the challenges of adapting to different cultures.The Minister said the digitisation of labour migration management through EEMIS has also strengthened coordination between the Ministry and Uganda’s diplomatic missions abroad.Through the system, information on migrant workers can be transmitted in real time to Ugandan missions, enabling them to provide consular assistance where necessary.Government has also sought to strengthen protection of migrant workers through bilateral labour agreements with destination countries.Tumukunde said Uganda has signed labour agreements with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Qatar, as well as a memorandum of understanding with the United Arab Emirates.Such agreements, he said, provide mechanisms for shared responsibility between Uganda and destination countries and can strengthen the governance of labour migration and protection of migrant workers.The Government has also established a toll-free hotline, 116, to register and follow up complaints from migrant workers and channel them to relevant officials in the Ministry or Ugandan embassies.Tumukunde further said only foreign companies accredited by Ugandan diplomatic missions are permitted to recruit domestic workers under the established arrangements.Four-party employment contracts are also used in some arrangements to make recruitment companies jointly liable and improve accountability in both the country of origin and the destination country.The Minister said the Thailand case demonstrates the need for greater vigilance by job seekers, families, communities and authorities.He urged Ugandans seeking employment abroad to verify whether recruiters are licensed and whether their intended deployment has been cleared through the official labour migration system.The Government, he added, needs the cooperation of security agencies, local leaders, communities and the media to combat trafficking and irregular labour migration.“The fight against human trafficking is a call for everyone,” Tumukunde told Parliament, pointing to the role of individuals, families, communities, security agencies, political leaders, religious and cultural leaders and the media.For the three Ugandans reportedly detained in Thailand, however, the immediate priority remains establishing how they travelled to the country, who facilitated their journey and the circumstances that resulted in their detention.The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development says the absence of Result Recruitment Company from its list of licensed recruiters is a significant lead in determining whether the victims were moved through an illegal recruitment and trafficking network.The Government has consequently called for additional information to support investigations, while promising to work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to establish the circumstances surrounding the three Ugandans and pursue appropriate action against anyone found responsible. 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