“Qatari labor minister Dr Sultan Bin Hassan Al-Bosari has assured me that no Nepali workers will be laid off without maturity of contract period, citing the global financial crisis,” Surya Nath Mishra, Nepali ambassador to Qatar told myrepublica.com. He said the Qatar government is in the process of approving 164,000 visas for next year.
“I requested Al- Bosari during his recent talks with me to favor Nepali workers as Nepal’s economy will be in a difficult situation without remittances,” Mishra added.
Mishra also informed that the Qatar government has recently notified employer companies not to lay off any Nepali workers and requested all foreign workers to inform government authorities in case of job loss without completion of the contract period.
“So, I have not seen any possibility of Nepalis losing jobs in Qatar,” added Mishra.
However, he conceded that a growing number of Nepalis are facing different problems due to various reasons.
He informed that more than 400 Nepalis are languishing in jails in Qatar for alcoholic use, violation of contract and other reasons.
“All of them are awaiting deportation to Nepal and 30 are sheltering at our office (Nepal embassy),” he said.
Despite a labor agreement with Qatar to ensure the safety and job security of Nepali workers, workers are still being cheated by local and Nepali manpower agencies.
Nepal and Qatar signed a bilateral labor pact on March 21, 2005 in Doha and also an additional protocol last year to implement the pact.
According to the Department of Employment Promotion (DoEP), the number of workers leaving for Qatar registered a 7.6 percent decline to 39,789 due to lower labor demand over the last six months on the back of the financial crisis. During the year a total of 85,411 workers had flown to Qatar where more than 350,000 Nepalis are estimated to be working.
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