Overseas employment through job contract migration is increasingly recognized world wide as a pro-labor export strategy with significant development impacts especially in developing countries of the world.

   The tremendous economy benefits from export of labor, some developing countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, Philippine, Egypt, India, Bangladesh, Tunisia, Sirilanka and morocco and Mexico have positioned themselves to maximize benefits from labor exports.

   In our country Ethiopia, the last four years government has stipulated policies and created solid systems to enhance the labor export that benefit Ethiopians and play vital role in increasing remittance.

   The government effort and policy in strengthening overseas employment sector had been significant and historical.

   Nevertheless, the government’s (The ministry of labor and skill) recent intention in getting proclamation in mandating higher security cash deposits to all employment agency is a deeply flawed policy that risks harming the very job seekers it claims to protect, migrant workers. While the measure purports to enhance accountability, it overlooks the socioeconomic realities of labor migration and threatens to stabilize a sector critical to national development.

   The sharp increase in mandatory cash deposits will disproportionately affect almost all overseas employment agencies in Ethiopia which form the backbone of overseas employment ecosystem. Many of these agencies operate on thin margin with refund contracts with foreign agents that carry deduction on workers returnee, ticket, insurance, absconding, refusal to work, not fit to work and many other responsibilities they must share with their foreign partners . At times, these agencies lack the capital reserves to meet inflated financial requirements. Forcing them to shutter with thousands of contracts and deployed workers they must follow up in other countries.

   A policy that will affect our Ethiopian overseas employment agencies will in reverse help other countries to get comparative advantage in getting more contracts to their citizens. The relationship our oversea employment agencies fostered for years will crumple instantly giving more advantage to their foreign counter parts like Philippine, Indonesia and Kenya.

   Our history shows that restrictive regulation that suffocate Ethiopian overseas employment agencies that are licensed often drive demand underground

   If legitimate agencies close due to financial and policy constraints, workers desperate for better job opportunities may turn to human traffickers who operate outside any law. This undermines the government’s own efforts to combat exploitation and often deaths crossing on seas. Rather than improving worker safely, the policy could expose migrants to greater risks.

   The mandatory deposit of 100,000 USD for private banks or any bank in Ethiopia to safeguard the safe repatriation of workers from their country of work have been working fine as intended for the last four years and have never created any mishaps in securing protection for deployed workers.

   The cash deposit requirement and layers of deposit hike assumes financial security alone can deter malpractice. However, corruption and fraud in the recruitment process are rarely rooted in a lack of Ethiopian overseas employment agency liquidity. The real issues – weak enforcement, inadequate labor protection and bureaucratic delays in grievance redressal remain unaddressed.

   In Ethiopia and many developing countries overseas employment is a lifeline for millions of families and a cornerstone of the national economy through remittances.

   By stifling the agencies that facilitate legal migration, this intended new proclamation risks shrinking opportunities for workers, particularly those from low-income background. The resultant decline in remittances could destabilize household economic and reduce foreign currency reserves, impacting macroeconomic stability.

   Ethiopian overseas employment agencies accountability can be achieved without crippling the industry. Strengthening overseas bodies, digitizing recruitment processes to ensure transparency and establishing worker welfare insurances by overseas recruitment agencies are more equitable approaches. Partnering with destination countries to enforce legal contract and pre-departure training would also empower migrant for more than arbitrary financial burdens and overbearing regulation that destroy licensed agencies.

 The Ethiopian ministry of labor and skills intent to get new proclamation reflects a troubling disconnect from the grassroots realities of overseas labor migration.

 Instead of imposing regressive financial deposit requirement, policymakers should engage with overseas employment agencies owners, foreign employment Association leaders, workers and Top able agencies to design inclusive reforms. Protecting migrants, enhancing Ethiopian overseas employment agencies capacity to compete in international labor arenas requires collaboration and engagement with all shareholders.

   Any unintended wrong policies will shrink legal pathways and fuel desperation. It will put Ethiopian recruitment agencies to lose the completion with formidable competitors like Philippine, Uganda, Kenya and Indonesia.

 It is time to retract this intended misguided proclamation and pursue solutions that balance accountability with accessibility.

  The writer can be reached via fatumahussien163@gmail.com