Rise in the number of departures to Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, key destinations for Nepalis, has showed that the global recession, which has been blamed for sharp fall in the demands of workers in labor destinations, has started to ease off.
Data compiled by the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) shows that the number of Nepalis, mainly blue-collar workers, leaving for Saudi Arabia continued to rise from the month of April. A total 6,302 left for Saudi Arabia during mid-July to mid-August, a whopping rise as compared to 3,313 workers leaving the country during mid-April to mid-May.
Similarly, departures to Malaysia, which has recently eased restriction for foreign workers in manufacturing sector (especially electronic sector), has also started gaining pace from April. The number of Malaysia-bound workers rose to 4,055 during mid-July to mid-August from 827 from mid-April to mid-May period.
“The number of overseas workers is gradually increasing as the construction and manufacturing sector of Saudi Arabia and Malaysia is gradually recovering after witnessing months of slowdown,” Som Bataju, vice-president of Nepal Foreign Employment Agencies´ Association (NAFEA), told myrepublica.com. He added that more than 90 percent of Nepali workers in Saudi Arabia are employed in the booming construction sector, while remaining are involved in agriculture, dairy, supermarket and cleaning among others sectors.
Similarly, construction, manufacturing and service are the key sectors absorbing Nepali workforce in Malaysia.
Mohan Krishna Sapkota, director general, DoFE, also said manpower agencies were applying for final work permits mostly for Saudi Arabia and Malaysia in recent weeks. "Increasing demand of workers in some destinations indicates that the impact of global downturn is easing," he added.
The number of outbound Nepali workers had declined by over 12.88 percent in 2008/09 fiscal year, as compared to 249,051 a year earlier, due to the global financial meltdown.
Under monthly review, number of overseas workers rose by 11.58 percent during mid-July to mid-August, as compared to the figure recorded a month earlier. The number rose to 19,397 during mid-July to mid-August, up from 17,383 of the preceding year.
However, Qatar and the UAE, other two key destinations, saw a decline in the arrivals of Nepali workers. The number of workers flying to Qatar and the UAE went down to 4,892 and 2,448 during the review month, as compared to 7,321 and 3,146 respectively in the preceding month.
Plagued by the global gloom, the UAE few months back had announced to slash fresh recruitment of migrant workers by 45 percent.
Despite slow improvement in the number of demands for Nepali workers during mid-July to mid-August, the number is far lower than the figure recorded during the same month in 2007/08 fiscal year. The number of workers leaving for different destinations dropped during the period by 15 percent, as compared to 22,827 recorded during the same month last year.
Number of workers heading to Qatar and Malaysia went down from 8,225 and 5,323 respectively recorded during the same period last year. Similarly, the number of workers leaving for the UAE also declined during the month. However, workers heading to Saudi Arabia increased during the period, which is a sharp rise as compared to 3,777 during the same period last year.
prabhakar@myrepublica.com
Related story
Labor pact with Malaysia, a welcome step
