Govt to provide Rs 1 million to families in case of death of Nepali migrant workers abroad

KATHMANDU, Aug 10: To make foreign employment safe and orderly, the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MoLESS) has decided to provide additional facilities to the workers through the Foreign Employment Board.

In a programme titled 'Discussion with Journalists on Foreign Employment Management' held by the MoLESS on Wednesday, Joint Secretary Rajeev Pokharel presented a paper regarding the recent efforts of the MoLESS to make its work more effective.  He said that there has been an increase in the services and facilities available to foreign employment workers through the Foreign Employment Board.

Pokharel mentioned in the paper that the payment of Rs 700,000 will be increased to Rs 1 million in case of death of Nepali workers in foreign countries.

Related story

12,000 migrant Nepali workers died abroad in a decade

Likewise, the board will examine the health of returnee migrant workers from foreign employment, and also provide psychosocial counseling and health examination camps in various countries. The government will also  step up efforts to control fraud, and the social security fund services will be expanded.

In the program, Secretary Kewal Prasad Bhandari said that the MoLESS is focused on making foreign employment safe and orderly through the flow of correct information and fraud control.

“There is no question about not sending Nepalis for foreign employment. The ministry is focused on organizing and securing and solving the problems seen in this regard,” he said. Secretary Bhandari said that due to the lack of information, people who migrate for foreign employment are being cheated, so it is necessary to spread awareness through various media to effectively control fraud. 

During the program, Director General of the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) Madan Dahal said that the MoLESS is committed to managing foreign employment. “DoFE is performing the role of regulator in foreign employment. It is necessary to create awareness among the target group to control fraud which results due to lack of awareness,” he said.