The Ministry of Labor and Transport Management (MoLTM) has finalized the new amendment to Foreign Employment Act, 2008 which has made government officials, manpower agencies and overseas workers more responsible in a bid to make the foreign employment sector more systematic.[break]
As per the new provision, overseas jobseekers must take necessary training on concerned jobs that they have applied, along with information about language, culture and lifestyle in receiving countries, sound health, ability to read and write and orientation training specified in existing regulations.
After the amendment, manpower agencies can open branches in foreign countries after depositing Rs 200,000 and deploying fulltime staffers as their agents. The new regulation has fixed the duration of prior approval to send workers to a year with the option for a six-month extension if the sending agencies furnish reasonable causes for the delay in sending workers.
“We have made the amendments after consulting with stakeholders. We will soon send the amendment proposal to the Law Ministry for its consent,” a source at MoLTM informed Republica.
Both the agencies applying for prior approval without completing necessary procedures and the officials, who grant final approval to such agencies, would face legal action, according to the regulation. Manpower agencies need to submit necessary documents, including worker demand letters approved by the embassies of the concerned countries, while applying for approval of work permit to the workers.
Manpower agencies have to ensure the insurance facility for workers while extending the contract period. They will also have to bear insurance liability if the workers extend the contract period under the initiation of the concerned manpower agencies.
The new amendments have also made it mandatory for the jobseekers to take orientation training on ´approved curriculum´. Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) will form a team to inspect and monitor institutes providing orientation and vocational training to workers.
As per the new regulation, kin of workers will get Rs 150,000 as compensation if the work dies during contract period. Earlier, they used to get Rs 100,000 as compensation.
In a bid to empower Foreign Employment Promotion Board, the new regulation has allowed it to operate safe homes for migrant returnee in partnership with non-governmental organizations. The board has to keep the migrant returnees at safe homes for three months if the workers faced mental of physical torture, became mentally ill and were victim of trafficking.
The regulation has also paved the way for the board to impart skill and foreign employment orientation training to overseas job aspirants. Likewise, Nepali embassies in the countries where number of workers is more than 50,000 have to set up a separate labor branch.
It has also fixed new criteria for the appointment of labor attaches. As per the new provision, only officials deployed under MoLTM for at least a year and those that have completed English language course specified by the ministry will be eligible for the job. At least one-third of total labor attaches should be women.
Manpower agencies need to send at least 10 percent of total workers sent by them from women, Dalit, indigenous nationalities and underprivileged groups.
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