The problem cropped up after as many as 754 manpower companies closed down their businesses since last four days protesting a recent police raid and Malaysia unofficially stopped hiring Nepali workers.
Following the protest by the manpower supply agencies, the number of foreign job-aspirants has come down. "While 1500 Nepali youths used to go for foreign jobs on a daily basis, it has come down to 700 now," said Bimal Dhakal, Chairman of Nepal Associaiton of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA).
Despite a great loss to the remitance of the country the strike is incurring, the Nepal government has not taken any initiative in striking consensus with the associaiton."
Of the total 500,000 youths going for foreign jobs annually, 200,000 youths go to Malaysia alone, which is the largest absorber of the Nepali migrant workers. It will come around 45% of the total Nepal's manual labor that Nepal sells in the foreign job markets.
On February 24, Police had raided 17 capital-based manpower agencies including River Overseas, Capital Recruitment Service, Shann International, AV International, Innovative Human Resource, Gorkha Nepal and Nepali Recruiting, Bheri Karnali International.
According to Senior Superintendent of Police Sarbendra Khanal, the raid was in response to complaints against those manpower agencies for financially cheating and overcharging foreign job employment aspirants and clients, leaving them stranded in foreign lands and sending them to a different destination instead of the promised station.
Besides, these manpower companies are alleged of receiving commission from the international companies for the supply of workers through an illegal channel (hundi) and not paying tax, and the police are to investigate these issues too, Khanal said.
The entrepreneurs of the manpower supply agencies have been upping the ante after the government announced free tickets and free visas for the Nepali migrant workers heading to gulf counties including Malaysia.
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