"Apart from laborers and unskilled manpower, there is a high demand for semi-skilled and skilled manpower in Qatar. Also there is a high demand for workers in Qatar because of the upcoming World Cup 2022," states a government report.
In 2014, at least one Nepali migrant worker died every two days. Stating that the recruiting costs, including visa and ticket, is completely borne by hiring companies in Qatar, the government report said the number of unskilled workers could be reduced in Qatar by increasing the number of semi-skilled, skill-oriented and professional manpower.
The report was prepared on the basis of a study conducted by six-member government delegation in Qatar last month.
Head of the delegation, Tika Bhandari, who is also director at Foreign Employment Promotion Board (FEPB), informed that there are numerous opportunities for Nepali migrant workers in Qatar.
The report also adds that aspirant migrant workers are being fleeced by recruiting agencies even though the companies in Qatar provide free visa and ticket to migrant workers. "After rounds of meeting with the officials of Labor and Social Welfare Ministry of Qatar, we concluded that legal action should be taken against unscrupulous manpower agents," added Bhandari.
The report has also recommended sending workers to destination countries only after receiving demand and appointing adequate manpower at the Nepalese embassy in Qatar to address the problems faced by Nepali migrant workers.
Likewise, migration expert Ganesh Gurung opines that we are not in a position to compare Qatar with other destination countries as many problems still exist there. "Qatar hasn't been able to amend its labor laws as promised earlier and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries doesn't address the problems of Nepali migrant workers," he said.
The Qatari government last year announced that it will bring changes to the Kafala (sponsorship system) and amend the exit permit system. It has been reported that there are around 1.2 million migrant workers in Qatar and 16 percent of the migrant workers are from Nepal.
According to government data, there are more than 400,000 Nepali migrant workers in Qatar which is building a stadium with seating capacity of 90,000 at the cost of $45 billion for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022.
A recent report 'My sleep is my break: Exploitation of domestic workers in Qatar' by Amnesty International also reported that Nepal ranks third in terms of the suicide rate among foreign migrant workers in Qatar.
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