A vast majority of Nepali migrant workers are hankering to return home as there is no much scope to survive in the destination countries due to the pandemic.

According to the ‘Rapid Assessment of the Situation of Nepali Migrant Workers’ conducted in 8 primary destination countries including India, Malaysia and Gulf countries revealed that 80% of the migrant workers are longing to return home.

They expressed their interest to engage in self-employment in agricultural and non-agricultural sectors.

The remaining 20% are interested to engage in wage-employment in agriculture or non-agricultural sectors.

Although the Nepali Government has prioritized policies and programs for returnees in the annual budget of FY 2020/21, the rapid assessment revealed that staggering 70% of the respondents are completely unaware of these programs. Meanwhile, an extremely low 2% knew how to get access to them.

While most of the migrant workers are aspiring to return home, many are perplexed to return owing to the uncertainty in employment opportunities and rapid spread of COVID-19 infection in Nepal.

“Returning to Nepal would mean navigating the complicated repatriation process, paying the expensive airfare, spending two-weeks in poorly-equipped quarantine centers, and potentially facing further lockdowns in Nepal,” stated the survey.

Major constraints in engaging in self-employment are

• Lack of finance
• Lack of skills or training
• Lack of access to professional networks
• Complex administrative barriers

Major constraints in engaging in wage-employment are

• Lack of skills, training or experience
• Lack of information regarding opportunities
• Inability to navigate the application process

The survey also revealed the pathetic conditions of the migrant workers living abroad. According to the report, 58% are concerned about getting infected due to poor working conditions, while 17% are concerned about their living conditions.

The study revealed that the local governments should establish a database of returnees and facilitate their social and economic reintegration.

It urged the government to ensure that vulnerable groups such as undocumented migrant workers are rescued and not left out in the reintegration process and programs funded by the Foreign Employment Welfare Fund (FEWF).

“This issue is of importance as workers may have traveled irregularly without obtaining labour approvals or overstayed their visas abroad without renewing their labour approvals in a timely manner, but are now returning home and require support,” stated the rapid assessment report.

The Nepal Policy Institute (NPI) and Migration Lab (MLab) had jointly conducted the Rapid Assessment on 625 Nepali migrant workers.

The post COVID-19 Crisis: 80% Nepali Migrant Workers Yearns to Return Home! appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The government will repatriate the workers through the Migrant Workers’ Welfare Fund as per the Supreme Court order.

Earlier on June 15, the Supreme Court has ordered the government to immediately repatriate those workers who are unable to pay for their airfares to return home.

According to the repatriation guidelines, the Nepali Government will bear the repatriation expenses based on the condition of the Nepali workers.

“The government will be bearing 100% expenses of the workers who had been to the foreign labour countries for less than a year and are unable to return home,” said Suman Ghimire, a Spokesperson for the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security.

The government will pay only 50% of the repatriation cost for those workers who have been in labor destination countries for more than a year.

However, the migrant workers should have a valid labor permit from the Nepali Government and the proof that their employer is not paying for their airfare.

Moreover, the government will consider the workers’ income during the period of their employment before their repatriation.

The concerned Nepali Embassies will ascertain whether the migrant workers were stranded without money after they lost their jobs, or being unpaid by their employers and did not receive any support from elsewhere.

The workers who had already returned home with their own expenses can also claim for reimbursement by filing their applications with the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE).

In turn, the department will send the applications to the concerned embassies for verification before approving the reimbursement.

According to the DoFE, around 25,000 Nepalis are willing to return home from various countries, especially from the Persian Gulf states and Malaysia.

The post Nepal to Repatriate Migrant Workers at ‘Free’! appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The party has launched a website www.Work4Nepal.com to provide information and required assistance to the helpless Nepalis willing to return to Nepal.

The portal aims at connecting returning migrant workers with the employers in Nepal.

The party is set to help the migrant workers to gain employment opportunities in government and non-government organizations as per their skill set and expertise.

Meanwhile, the party representatives have already held discussions with the Nepali ambassadors in countries including Qatar, Oman, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Egypt to understand the condition of Nepalis.

The post Nepal Party to Aid ‘Jobless’ Nepalis Abroad appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Nepali job aspirants willing to pursue employment in Korea are all set to start leaving for the latter country beginning from the last week of November 2017.

The Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) made an official announcement in this regard, recently.

According to the department, all the Nepali migrants approved for foreign employment in Korea have passed the Korean Language Test (KLT) conducted by the Government of South Korea under the Employment Permit System (EPS).

“We are planning to complete the medical tests of all the eligible job aspirants and fill their job application forms within two weeks after Tihar festival,” said Baburam Khatiwada, Director of EPS Korea Section.

Baburam further informed that the approved list of applicants (after medical tests) will be sent to the South Korean Government, which will then issue the Certificate for Confirmation of Visa Issuance (CCVI) for the Nepali migrants.

“If everything goes as planned, job-seekers who have passed the KLT will start leaving for South Korea from the end of November,” Baburam added.

This selection is part of the Human Resources Development Service of Korea’s process, under which, the KLT-passed candidates are given an opportunity to apply for jobs in Korea on a roster basis.

However, the validity of KLT is only for two years and those who clear the test cannot apply for jobs in Korea after two years.

Nepali Migrants to Korea for Work on Rise

There has been an upward trend in the number of Nepalis seeking employment in South Korea, in the recent years.

According to the official data, the number of Nepali KLT applicants has increased from 61,637 in 2016 to 68,000 by 2017.

Meanwhile, the labor demand in South Korea for 2018 has been projected at a three-fold rise to 10,200 against 3,100 of 2017, says the EPS Korea Section.

In line with the growing Nepali job-seekers, the Government of South Korea has also been boosting the labor quota for Nepal, every year.

So far, a total of 43,000 Nepali migrant workers were allowed to work in Korea under EPS, while 11,000 workers have already returned post the completion of their 58-month job placement.

A Nepali labor in Korea earns 1,236,000 won (around USD 1,075) per month.

The post Nepalis For Foreign Jobs: New Set of Migrant Workers to Korea Ready appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The most-awaited Nepal’s biggest festival season has set in creating a joyful environment across the country.

The special season, which began with the arrival of the 15-day long Bada Dashain on September 21, 2017, and will be followed by Tihar and Chhath, started witnessing a large number of Nepalese traveling to and from Nepal for their festival celebrations.

“The number of people returning home usually goes up during the festive season. Nepalese living abroad, a majority of migrant workers, return home for Dashain and Tihar festivals. This is a normal trend almost every year,” says Prakash Neupane, a Senior Immigration Officer at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA).

According to TIA’s Online Immigration Database, around 34,690 Nepalese returned home from various foreign destinations between September 17 and September 23, 2017, while 24,175 Nepalese left the country during the same period. 

Around 4,921 Nepalese returned home on the very first day of Dashain on September 21, 2017. Surprisingly, the number increased to 15,626 by September 23, 2017 i.e. within two days after the festival beginning.

According to official data, 5,432 and 5,282 Nepalese passed through the TIA immigration office on September 22 and September 23, respectively.

Majority of these arrivals were seen from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Malaysia and the United Arab of Emirates.

Outbound Travelers Also on Rise

On the other side, the festival season is also witnessing a significant rise in the number of migrant workers leaving the country.

According to the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE), 13,295 Nepali migrant workers applied for outbound travel between September 17 and September 24. 

The data covering the last seven days shows that 3,687 migrant workers have applied for work permits in Qatar, followed by UAE (2,979), Malaysia (2,759), Saudi Arabia (2,352) and Kuwait (629).

“This drop during this time of the year is normal. The number will go up once the festival is over,” says DoFE Spokesperson Adhikari.

CIAA Cautions Government on Services

Meanwhile, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) yesterday urged the Government of Nepal to ensure smooth delivery of services during the festivals.

CIAA directed the government officials and other consumer-based organisations to take possible measures in this regard.

Chief Deep Basnyat urged the officials to be alert with regard to issues concerning peace, security and food supply, and also suggested them to conduct regular market monitoring activity. He called on officials to work in coordination to address public grievances on time.

5,000 Security Personnel Deployed

The Metropolitan Police Office, Ranipokhari, Kathmandu has prepared to deploy around 5,000 police personnel in the Kathmandu Valley, to ensure peace and security during the festival season covering Dashain, Tihar and Chhath.

Besides Nepali police help desks, special security forces have also been deployed at hotels, bus points, across the Valley.

The post Nepal’s Biggest Festival Season: Surge in Nepalese Returning Home for Celebrations appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

With an aim to ensure a safe environment for the migrant workers, the labor-sending countries of Asia gathered in Kathmandu to prepare a joint action plan for the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) process.

The two-day meeting that began yesterday witnessed a participation of senior officials of the Colombo Process Member States (CPMS) that belong to Colombo Forum, a forum that works on management of overseas employment and contractual labor for countries of origins in Asia.

According to the organizers, plans to protect and promote the rights of CPMS’ migrant workers going abroad, while also enhancing migration governance and engaging in the GCM process will be discussed in the meeting.

In his inaugural address, Nepali Minister for Labor and Employment Dilli Bahadur Chaudhary said, “While the meeting will discuss on our common position and recommendations to move ahead, we must not forget that the migrants from our countries immensely contribute to the development, prosperity and diversity of the transit and destination countries.”

He further called upon the member countries stating, “It is an appropriate time to strongly raise the common concerns of our migrants and suggest better options to address the issue, which will also be beneficial for the transit and destination countries in better management of migrants and providing them services.”

The discussions and recommendations will move around five themes of Colombo Process such as fostering ethical recruitment, effective pre-departure orientation and empowerment of migrant workers, skills and qualification recognition processes of labor migrants, international labor market analysis and remittances.

Chaired by Nepal, Colombo Process is a Regional Consultative Process on migration with 12 Asian labor-sending countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam as its members.

Take-aways to be Presented Before UN

The officials are aimed at coming up with an action plan based on the take-aways of an expert-level meeting held on September 8, 2017 towards addressing GCM-related issues.

And, the meeting outcome will be presented at the regional UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific consultation in Bangkok and submitted to the GCM stocktaking meeting in Mexico.

The Ministry of Labor and Employment, Government of Nepal is hosting the meet with support from International Organization for Migration, Nepal (IOM) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

The post Labor-sending Asian Nations Discuss Safe Migration appeared first on Nepali Sansar.