Under the new system, the governments of both the countries have agreed on the basic criteria of age, qualification, salary, working days and other facilities for the workers. The new agreement even states that any aspirant migrant workers should not be below the age of 24 and must have passed SLC exams in order to qualify to work as caregivers in Israel.Israel had stopped issuing visas to Nepalis since 2010, citing irregularities and exorbitant fees charged by recruiting agencies to aspiring workers.
The Israeli government has sent the final agreement paper to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and the latter has forwarded it to the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MoLE). The ministry has sent the papers to the law ministry for final approval.
State Minister for Labor and Employment Tek Bahadur Gurung informed that the ministry will finalize the agreement within three weeks and aspiring migrant workers can go to work in Israel under the G2G recruitment system.
"The caregivers get a five-year long visa in Israel where basic salary will be 1,100 dollars a month," he said, adding, "But the workers need to bear the airfare and visa fee."
The ministry has informed that 50 caregivers will go to Israel in the first phase after signing of the agreement between the two countries. "The demand for caregivers in Israel is expected to grow to 1,200 in the coming years, added Gurung.
The ministry has informed that aspiring workers need to take a 3-month caregiver training in order to work in Israel. The government will renew the license of 23 caregivers training institutes instead of giving affiliation to new ones.
A government delegation of Israel came to Nepal last year to hold bilateral discussions on the matter. During the meeting, Nepali officials had urged the Israeli delegation to consider hiring more Nepali caregivers and requested them to ensure that they are treated on par with Israeli workers.
Israel is considered one of the safest destination countries among other countries in the Middle East. The Nepali embassy in Israel estimates that around 6,000 Nepalis working in Israel as caregivers and agricultural workers.
Meanwhile, the proposed working modality for domestic workers, which is at the cabinet for final approval, doesn"t include caregivers who will work in Israel.
Related story
Israel ready to welcome additional 2,000 caregivers from Nepal:...
