Explainer: Should Gambian Migrants Pay Recruitment Fee to Work in Spain?

Hon Elma Saiz Delgado of Spain and Hon Serign Modou Njie of The Gambia (c) State House

By Fatoumata Jaiteh

The Gambia Government signed a memorandum of understanding on circular migration with the Kingdom of Spain on 28th August 2024. Barely a week after Parliamentarians ratified the MoU, a leaked letter from the Spanish Government instructed the Gambia to notify citizens not to pay for their application to work in Spain.

The agreement which is set to start in early 2025 will see Gambians travel to work in the Spanish labour market on seasonal basis. Based on the MoU signed by Spain’s Minister of Inclusion and The Gambia’s Minister of Defense, the agreement “shall apply for an initial period of one (1) year from the date it was signed. It may be extended for a period considered appropriate by the signatories.”

Speaking to one of the country’s leading morning radio shows, Coffee Time on West Coast Radio on 12th November 2024, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Trade, Regional Integration and Employment (MoTIE), Mr. Lamin Dampha, revealed that the Government’s current interaction with Spain is mainly in the Agricultural Sector and those that will be going will be working in the field of Agriculture which is why they are called seasonal workers.

Download a copy of the full agreement from this link on Askanwi.

Addressing traveling plans, PS Dampha explained that Gambian Migrant Workers “will be [in Spain] during the harvesting period for six months and come back after harvesting,” the workers will then return back to spain during a subsequent harvesting period. Speaking on the departure date of potential workers, Dampha stated that they may leave the Gambia for Spain around the start of January 2025.

MoTIE Corrects List of Identified Recruitment Agencies

A statement issued by the MoTIE on 29th October wrongly stated that seven different agencies were responsible for recruiting Gambians for the circular migration agreement. Soon after this list was issued applicants flooded the agencies to be recruited with some paying monies to be shortlisted.

Just three days later MoTIE issued another statement clarifying “that its letter — contained some errors. The information contained in the letter was supposed to refer to the Bilateral Manpower Agreement between The Gambia Government and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”.

The statement warns “the pubic — that no Private Recruitment Agency is licensed to recruit workers for deployment to the Kingdom of Spain. Therefore, citizens are strongly advised not to engage any private recruitment agency for the purpose of working in the Kingdom of Spain because that would be deceptive and illegal”.

Spain Diplomatic Letter Leaked to The Media

After obtaining a Spanish Diplomatic Letter leaked to the press, it became apparent that the Government’s Spokesperson statement was in reaction to the Diplomatic Dispatch. The leaked letter highlighted that applicants are paying to be recruited to work in Spain. Originating from the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs European Union and Cooperation, dated 31st October 2024 the letter requested for rectifications from the Gambia Government.

According to the leaked letter, the Spanish Government has “been informed that some private agencies — are allegedly charging up to D50,000 for the recruitment for the Spain program. The diplomatic antenna of Spain kindly requests [the Gambia Government’s] esteemed cooperation to inform the Gambian Citizens that these agencies are not entitled to recruit any workers for the Spanish program, and that the selection process and requirements for this program will be announced in due time”.

Who Will Oversee the Recruitment Process?

According to Article Three of the agreement, “the Ministry signing on behalf of The Gambia shall establish a system for shortlisting candidates” which is the Ministry of Defense. However, the statements and clarifications issued by MoTIE and the Government Spokesperson highlights this responsibility has been delegated to the MoTIE.

Government’s Spokesperson Ebrima G. Sankareh’s statement in reaction to the Spanish Diplomatic Dispatch dated on 31st October 2024 notes that MoTIE “will be responsible for the pre-selection of candidates”. The statement adds that “the Public Employment Services Unit of the Department of Labour under the Ministry of Trade has been designated as the competent authority to coordinate and facilitate the recruitment process under the MoU”.

Eligibility Criteria for Applicants

According to the signed agreement applicants must meet some nine requirements as potential domestic workers for the Circular Migration agreement. Some of these requirements include being within the 18 to 40 years age bracket, proof of Nationality, Medical Examination, Training Certificate, Pre-Departure Training amongst others.

For more information download the full agreement from this link on Askanwi.

This article was first published by FactCheckGambia.org in the link. https://factcheckgambia.org/explainer-should-gambian-migrants-pay-recruitment-fee-to-work-in-spain/