The decision is in accordance with the Foreign Employment Act 2007, which mandates the government to appoint labor attachés in countries where more than 5,000 Nepalis work.
“The cabinet meeting held on Friday has decided to appoint one labor attaché each in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar,” said Yub Raj Pande, secretary at the Ministry of Labor and Transport Management. Together, these four countries absorb more than 90 percent of the total Nepali overseas workforce, which touched 223,464 in 2007/08 alone.
Hundreds of thousand of Nepalis leave for work overseas every year. However, a large number of them fall prey to various problems, and in the absence of any specialized unit to look after them, they are presently languishing in the foreign lands.
“We will complete the process of appointing labor attachés within a month after consulting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,’’ Pande told Republica.
Pande elaborated that government official working under the Administrative Service and having knowledge of labor related issues will be selected for the positions.
The cabinet meeting of Friday also decided to split the Department of Labor and Employment Promotion into two entities -- Labor Department and Foreign Employment Department, as envisaged by the Foreign Employment Act.
Foreign employment agents have welcomed the decision.
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