KATHMANDU, Dec 18: Nearly 1,500 Nepalis lost their lives while working abroad last year, according to data released by the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT).
Organising a press conference in Kathmandu on Tuesday, GEFONT said that a total of 1,492 Nepali migrant workers died in the fiscal year 2023/24. Among the victims, men accounted for 92 percent of the deaths. The data revealed that 1,376 men and 116 women were among the deceased.
The number of victims in the review year was comparatively more than those killed in the previous FY. According to GEFONT, a total of 1,208 deaths, including 1,163 men and 45 women, were reported in the previous year (FY 2022/23).
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GEFONT expressed concern over the rising number of workers opting for foreign employment through personal contacts rather than authorized agencies, calling it an “alarming trend.”
Likewise, GEFONT shared that 281,195 workers were re-employed during the review period while 460,102 obtained new labor permits.
The data further highlighted that Dhanusha and Jhapa districts alone saw 39,107 and 34,362 people, respectively, leaving for foreign employment in the last two years.
The UAE remains the top destination, with 193,502 Nepalis migrating there last year. Significant numbers of workers have also traveled to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Malaysia, Kuwait, Croatia, Romania, Japan, South Korea, and Bahrain.
GEFONT President Binod Shrestha said that 1,311,078 workers have been registered under the Social Security Fund, a mandatory provision for those seeking foreign employment.
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