Labour Protection Policy Enforcement and the Welfare of Kenyan Migrant Domestic Workers in Saudi Arabia

Bunei Jesca Chepkorir – Institute of Women, Gender &Development Studies, Egerton University

Lilian Chesikaw – Institute of Women, Gender &Development Studies, Egerton University

Charles Wambu – Department of Community Development and Environmental Management, The Cooperative University of Kenya

Email: jessicabunei.jb@gmail.com

Abstract: Kenyan migrant domestic workers in Saudi Arabia fall largely outside labour-inspection systems. This study examined how their protection is enforced, an area rarely studied from workers’ perspective, focusing on inspection frequency, grievance reporting and resolution, the prevalence of rights violations, and the conditions respondents linked to impunity. Aconvergent mixed-methods design combined a structured survey of 128 migrant domestic workers and returnees with 17 key informant interviews and 8 interviews with family members. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and chi-square tests and qualitative data were analysed thematically. Workplace inspection was nearly absent with 85.9 % of respondents said no inspection had ever taken place, and 91.4 % had experienced at least one rights violation, most commonly denial of rest days, passport confiscation and excessive working hours. Fewer than half of affected workers reported their grievances, and only 11.9 % secured full resolution. Respondents linked this enforcement gap to the kafala sponsorship system, the exclusion of private households from inspection, and slow institutional response. The study concludes that weak enforcement, not a lack of formal protections, is the reason human-rights violations against this population continue, and calls for structural reform of inspection systems, complaint mechanisms and bilateral accountability arrangements.