Nepal Seeks New Labour Deal For Migrant Workers

By Yuba Nath Lamsal KATHMANDU, Aug 20 (Bernama) -- Nepal seeks to sign a new agreement with labour-destination countries including Malaysia to make recruitment process free of cost for Nepali migrant workers. Nepal has already proposed a new agreement with countries seeking Nepali migrant workers to ease the recruitment process and make it totally free, said officials at the Ministry of Labour and Employment. “We want zero recruitment cost for Nepali migrant workers in all countries and we are in the process of negotiating with countries seeking Nepali workers,” said Buddhi Bahadur Khadka, spokesman for the Ministry of Labour and Employment. Nepal proposed its draft of a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) to Malaysia, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia more than six months ago. However, none of the countries have so far responded, according to the ministry. "Nepal has requested all labour-destination countries to give direct access to the employers for an easy and hassle-free recruitment process," Khadka said at an interaction organised by the International Office for Migration (IOM) in Kathmandu on Monday. Nepal’s proposal comes following complaints from migrant workers that they had to pay a hefty amount to the middlemen for the recruitment and also that they suffered various forms of exploitation at the workplace in the absence of a labour agreement between Nepal and the labour-recipient countries. "Nepal’s proposed MoU on labour seeks to address all these issues,” said Khadka. Nepali migrant workers have to pay a hefty amount to agencies for recruitment in different countries including Malaysia, said Deepak Sharma, who has two sons working in Malaysia and one in the United Arab Emirates. "If direct access to the employers is established, Nepali migrant workers will be relieved of having to pay to middlemen," he said. Malaysia is a major destination for Nepali migrant workers, and more than 450,000 Nepali migrant workers are currently working in Malaysia. -- BERNAMA