The existing Foreign Employment Act 2007 has clearly stated that Nepali manpower companies have to submit original demand letters and documents certified by a formal body of the receiving country [where workers go for foreign employment] to the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) for prior approval of labor quotas. [break]
Nepal´s diplomatic missions or labor attaches, or a receiving country´s chamber of commerce or a notary public can also attest the demand letter so as to avoid fake documentation.
A source at DoFE told myrepublica.com that Nepali missions responsible for attesting the demand letters and documents have been attesting documents without proper verification.
"Nepali missions just place a stamp that reads ´As seen at the embassy´ on the documents without investigating the authenticity of documents and status of the employers mentioned therein" the source said.
The source further added that the incidence of submission of fake demand letters of non-existent foreign companies is growing and this trend is likely to increase in coming days as mission officials don´t bother to conduct on-site inspections of the employer companies to verify their legal and physical status.
Officials at the Ministry of Labor and Transport Management said more than 20 percent of documents submitted by manpower agencies for prior approval are attested by Nepali missions abroad. "Chances of workers being cheated due to fake documents would further increase if documents are attested without proper investigation," said the source.
"The missions do not make enquiries about manpower companies by phone before putting their stamp on the documents," said Gyan Prasad Gaire, vice-president of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA).
As per the existing practice, Nepali manpower agencies send demand letters to the chamber of commerce of the country concerned for attestation. If DoFE makes further inquiries, the manpower agencies send the documents for further verification to the Nepali missions.
However, Nepali mission officials don´t make serious inquiries to ensure the authenticity of the documents before they stamp them.
Documents attested by Nepali embassies mostly come from the Untied Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar whereas documents with chamber of commerce and foreign ministry attestation come from Saudi Arabia. Similarly, most documents from Malaysia are attested by a notary public.
Officials at DoFE said they give prior approval to manpower agencies to send workers to overseas destinations as per the documents approved by Nepali missions.
"We regard the ´Seen at Embassy´ stamp put on the documents by Nepali mission officials as authentic because the missions are supposed to properly investigate the companies concerned before putting the stamp of approval," said Kashi Nath Marasini, director of DoFE.
prabhakar@myrepublica.com
Related story
Child labor situation in Nepal: challenges and ways forward
