Kenya, Saudi Arabia Eye Skilled Jobs Deal

Kenya and Saudi Arabia plan to finish a new recruitment agreement for skilled workers within one month, Kenya’s Labour Cabinet Secretary (labour minister) Alfred Mutua said after talks in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Thursday 12 November 2026. Saudi-based recruitment agencies have committed to 293,600 job opportunities for Kenyans, Mutua said, but no new pay rates have been reported.

The talks also produced two signed papers on domestic workers, a group that Amnesty International, the global human rights group, says faces serious abuse in Saudi Arabia. For readers in the United States who follow labour rights and migration, the next test is whether pay and protections improve once the rules are written down.

What Was Agreed in Riyadh

Mutua met Saudi Arabia’s Vice Minister for Labour, Abdullah bin Nasser Abuthnain, on Thursday 12 November 2026, with Kenya’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Joseph Masila, among those attending. Mutua said the talks covered labour cooperation and the problems facing Kenyans already employed in the kingdom.

He said technical teams from both countries have one month to finalise a separate recruitment agreement for skilled workers. He described the 293,600 job commitments from Saudi-based employment agencies as an important step for Kazi Majuu, Kenya’s programme for jobs abroad.

The sectors Mutua named include nursing, medicine, teaching, construction, hospitality, transport, manufacturing, finance, oil and gas, and domestic work. Mutua also said both sides agreed to strengthen training and qualification programmes for Kenyan workers.

What Was Signed on Thursday

The two sides signed a technical annex, a supplementary text, to the domestic worker recruitment agreement first signed in July 2026. Mutua said the annex provides for streamlined recruitment procedures, lower recruitment costs and stronger regulation of contracts.

They also signed a letter of intent, a statement of what both sides plan to do, for a three-month pilot on voluntary recruitment fees for domestic workers. Mutua said fees would follow market cost competitiveness and invited Kenyan agencies to join, and the two sides also discussed pay.

Why Workers’ Rights Are Part of the Story

In May 2025 Amnesty published a report on Kenyan domestic workers in Saudi Arabia, based on testimony from more than 70 former domestic workers. It described delayed or unpaid wages, workdays of at least 16 hours and passports and phones typically taken by employers.

Concerns about treatment of Kenyans in the kingdom have also surfaced in individual cases, such as our report on a Kenyan mother facing 100 lashes in Riyadh. Other African workers face similar risks, as our story on 1,561 Ethiopians returning from Saudi Arabia showed.

What It Means for Workers and US Readers

For Kenyan job seekers, 293,600 is a commitment from recruitment agencies, not a list of filled vacancies. Actual hiring depends on employers, visas and the final text of the skilled-worker agreement.

For US readers who follow labour rights and migration, the points to watch are the fee, pay and contract terms once the agreement is published. A lower recruitment fee matters because it is often the first cost a migrant worker carries.

What to Watch Next

The one-month target puts the skilled-worker text due by about mid-December 2026, on Mutua’s timetable. The three-month pilot on recruitment fees is the second checkpoint, and its start date has not been given.

What Is Not Known

• Whether Saudi Arabia will set new salary rates for Kenyan workers, since none have been reported.
• How many of the 293,600 jobs are skilled roles and how many are domestic work.
• Whether the one-month target for the skilled-worker agreement will be met.
• Whether Saudi officials confirm the 293,600 figure, which comes from Kenya’s side.
• Whether Saudi Arabia will lift the travel and visa restrictions it placed on Kenya after a reported Ebola case, which Kenya wants reversed.

More: Kenya news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Kenya and Saudi Arabia agree on 12 November 2026?

They signed a technical annex to the domestic worker agreement and a letter of intent on a three-month pilot for recruitment fees. Kenya’s Labour Cabinet Secretary, Alfred Mutua, said technical teams have one month to finalise a skilled-worker agreement.

How many jobs are on offer for Kenyans in Saudi Arabia?

Mutua said Saudi-based employment agencies committed to 293,600 job opportunities for Kenyans. It is a commitment by agencies, not a list of open posts.

Will pay for Kenyan workers in Saudi Arabia go up?

The two sides discussed ways to improve pay, but no new salary rates have been reported. The skilled-worker text is still being negotiated.

What has Amnesty said about Kenyan workers in Saudi Arabia?

Amnesty’s May 2025 report, based on testimony from more than 70 former domestic workers, described delayed or unpaid wages, long hours and passports typically taken by employers. It urged Saudi Arabia to cover domestic workers under its labour law and Kenya to regulate recruitment.

Sources: remarks by Kenya’s Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua after the Riyadh talks, 12 November 2026, as reported in Kenya on 12 and 13 November 2026; Amnesty International, report on migrant domestic workers in Saudi Arabia, 13 May 2025 (amnesty.org).

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