It is high time the decision-makers understood the vulnerability of Nepali workers in those countries with which it does not have such an agreement. In the absence of a legally-binding bilateral mechanism, unskilled Nepali workers who hail from rural backgrounds are forced to face discrimination and exploitation.
There are cases when private companies abroad have shown reluctance in even taking up responsibility to send the dead body of our men and women back home. The government must make it a priority to enter into such an agreement.
Last year, the country recorded remittance inflow of a whopping Rs 209 billion. On the back of the global recession, remittance – which is equivalent to 21 percent of our total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – has increased this year but at a decreasing rate.
In the first seven months of the ongoing fiscal year, foreign workers have already sent in Rs 124 billion to Nepal. Since remittance is the backbone of our economy, all logic suggests that the government must streamline the labor sector and invest for their skill-development and welfare.
The state must put in place a system whereby the workers are safeguarded before and after their departure to foreign lands. As important as it is to secure their rights abroad, it is equally necessary to prepare them to leave the country in the first place. Since 90 percent of the workers who fly abroad for jobs are uneducated and unskilled, basic trainings in terms of language, religion, social practices, traffic rules, climatic condition, etc is a must.
The Labor ministry must separate a portion of their budget to initiate such trainings for the workers. The foreign ministry, on the other hand, must work toward making the labor office in the embassies functional. The Labor Act, 2007, dictates that there must be a labor attaché in those countries where more than 5,000 Nepali workers are employed.
There are 12 such countries, but the reality is that so far we just have labor attaché stationed in four countries – Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE. The government is presently working to appoint labor attachés for four other countries – Japan, South Korea, Kuwait and Hong Kong. That is a step in the right direction. Having said that, there is no denying that a lot more needs to be done to streamline this vulnerable sector.
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