It’s now a breakthrough for job seekers in Kenya after a long protracted battle between the government and members of parliament saw an unemployed youths become the beneficiary
In a statement released by Nominated Member of Parliament Gideon Keter over the much anticipated bill that has been lying on the floor of the house for several years, is that job seekers will not be required to undergo background checks before employment
Members of parliament unanimously supported the Employment Amendment Bill without any objection that sought removal of clauses requiring job seekers to pay Sh 750 million, for criminal background check-ups before securing a mere job interview
A cure has come through amendments after several years whereby an employer shall no longer perceive job seekers as criminal before they apply for a job. The solution to all these bottlenecks is that the employer will no longer ask job seekers documents as KRA, certificate of good conduct from DCI, HELB, CRB, EACC clearance certificate until or unless an offer of employment is guaranteed.
“Job seeking should not be an adventure where job seekers must prove that they are not a criminal or have not engaged in any crime in the past. This country is not graduating criminals from universities and colleges every year. These are young men and women who are more than ready to offer their skills and knowledge for the advancement of this nation’s greatness,’’ Gedion Keter inked
The vocal second term nominated legislator coughed that it’s so unfortunate for public-funded institutions to have turned cash cow where the parliamentary budget office ascertained that, those institutions have been collecting over Sh 750 million every year from those who are seeking to be hired.
“This is a clear indication that they have been milking job seekers, most of them graduates , for years yet there is not a single cent that has been directly sent back to youth empowerment programs with nothing to show that these monies were sent to HELB to boost the kitty,’’ He added
According to legislators is that Kenya should have picked some of the best practices from other jurisdictions that have relieved their graduates from financial burden
In the United Kingdom, it is only when you become successful at an interview and offered a job that your employer will be required to carry out a series of employment checks depending on the type of job you are going to undertake
Members of Parliament also gave an experience from United States of America where states like lowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts and Vermont have enacted laws that expressly prohibit employers from requiring applicants to pay for their own background checks.
“In lowa, the law makes employers responsible for payng for criminal history checks run through the Division of Criminal Safety Investigations. In Louisiana, employers are required to cover expenses for criminal background checks and other searches or checks made on applicants or existing employees
Mr Keter avowed that graduates should be given jobs first before asked for clearance documents as they are not supposed to subjected for punishment for looking for a job, and instead be allowed to earn first to afford paying for these documentation. “Nobody should be denied a job because someone suspects them of being a criminal. As a government, let us not make job seeking an unbearable task by adding an extra financial burden on individuals who are already penniless,’’ He added
In Kenya, securing public appointment opportunity, job seekers have been paying for Sh 1250 for processing of certificate of good conduct from Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Headquarters at Kiambu Road
Ksh 2000 for clearance from Higher Education Loans Board, HELB from anniversary towers at second floor coupled with another Ksh 2200 to obtain clearance certificate of credit reference bureau [CRB} if only someone has never defaulted any financial lending institutions
A certificate from Kenya Revenue Authority would have costed approximately Ksh 300, and another Ksh 500 for the clearance certificate from ethics anti-corruption commission, EACC at Integrity House
Job seekers were also undergoing medical check-ups from recognized health facilities countrywide where one would pay a certain amount depending on the status of the hospital for thorough testing and recording
As if this is not enough, Kenya Certificate Qualification Management Authority which was established by former Education Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i has also been robbing job seekers of Ksh 2350 to authenticate whether their KCPE and KCSE obtained from different schools are/were genuine