KATHMANDU, April 20: The parliament's Committee for Social Justice and Human Rights has directed the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) to probe into a case of fraud involving over Rs 29.6 million related to employment in South Korea. The instruction came after 37 victim South Korea job aspirants filed complaints at the committee.
Hinting that there could be involvement of government officials of various departments under the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MoLE) in duping aspirant migrant workers, the committee has sought details of the case along with proper investigation from the CIAA.
The committee has even asked the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MoLE) to arrange for compensating 37 aspirant workers who were duped with promises of employment in ships in South Korea.
All 37applicants had paid Rs 800,000 per head to the United Consultancy after receiving work permit from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DoFE) for the jobs that promised a monthly salary of US$ 1,300. However, they were returned from the Tribhuwan International Airport (TIA) in February, 2014, for carrying fake documents.
The victims had filed complaints against the government at the committee last week. The committee then summoned State Minister for Labor Tek Bahadur Gurung on Sunday to inquire about the matter.
Chairman of the Committee Sushil Kumar Shrestha informed that involvement of the MoLE and the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) is very obvious in the embezzlement as the victims have been issued work permits on the basis of fake job documents.
"It shows direct involvement of government officials from the ministry and DoFE in the scam," said Shrestha, adding, "The CIAA will probe into the case up to the ministerial level."
He even added that the committee has given 30 days to the MoLE to pay compensation to the victims.
Talking to Republica, State Minister for Labor Tek Bahadur Gurung informed that the ministry has suspended six staff of DoFE who were on duty when the work permits were issued.
"We have formed a committee to investigate this case and are working to provide relief to the victims," added Gurung, adding, "All the staffers found involved in misuse of authority will face legal action."
The meeting also directed the MoLE to scientifically manage the working procedure of the ministry with regard to foreign employment and conduct orientation programs for the staffers and foreign-bound workers effectively.
Now parliamentary committee is our only hope: Victims
The victims have said that they were forced to file complaints at the parliamentary committee after the complaints and investigation section at the DoFE did not heed their complaints.
One of the victims, Surendra Khadka, said that they sought help from officials of the DoFE in every process before paying the consultancy.
"Why did the government issue us work permits if the demand papers were fake?" asked Khadka, adding, "It seems like the government officials were also involved in the scam."
He even added that the carelessness of the government has left them helpless. "Now our only hope is the parliamentary committee," said he.
South Korea is regarded as one of the more lucrative job destinations for Nepali workers. Nepal has signed labor agreement with Korea and sends workers to Korea via government to government (G2G) procedure under the Employment Permit System (EPS).
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