The May Day, also called International Workers’ Day, was put forth by the international labor movement, social activists and other stakeholders working for the wellness of working population, globally.

Like many other nations, Nepal has also been celebrating the Labor Day since 1963, however, listed the day under public holidays only since 2007.

Addressing Nepali nationals on the 129^th Labor Day, President Bidya Devi Bhandari lauded the global Nepali working community for their contribution towards the establishment of the Federal Democratic Republic in Nepal.

She further added that the constitutional provision of making Nepal a socialism-oriented economy will benefit the Nepali working class.

The President also wished a conducive working environment, at home and abroad, for the global Nepali community by means of fair remuneration, effective human rights and overall social security.

Meanwhile, speaking on the occasion, Nepali Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security Gokarna Raj Bista promised massive and more decent employment opportunities for Nepalis at home.

While stating that the Nepali Constitution is committed to successful protection of the rights of Nepali migrant labor, Bista said the government would coordinate and take necessary measures to ensure a decent, systematic and safe foreign employment for Nepali migrants, while also putting an end to child labor and guaranteeing social security.

On the occasion of the 129^th Labor Day, let’s take a glance at some of the key happenings and announcements pertaining to Nepali workforce, locally and globally, in the recent times:

New Year Decision

Assuring a happy new year for Nepali working class, the Government of Nepal announced plans for the revision of minimum wage limit for Nepali labor, as per the Labor Act 2017, effective from the Nepali New Year 2075 day on April 14, 2018.

The government’s decision was in line with the Labor Act 2017 that proposes hike in minimum wage limit for every two years.

“As wage revision for workers is envisioned by the Labor Act, we are prioritizing effective implementation of the act as soon as possible by bringing a Labor Guideline. We will soon hold discussions with labor unions and employers on revising the minimum wage for workers,” Secretary at the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MoLE) Laxman Mani Mainali had said in a statement.

Stating that the new Labor Act will benefit both the workers and employers, Bharat Raj Acharya, vice-chairman at the Employers’ Council of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry said, “A relevant revision on minimum wage for workers will be made after holding discussions with workers’ union and the government.”

The new Act, endorsed in the Nepali Parliament in August 2017, envisages a minimum wage of Rs 9,700 per month to workers. While ensuring uniformity in wages for jobs of similar nature and social security, the new law also mandates employers to provide insurance facility to the employees.

Status Report on Migrant Workers’ Contribution and Concerns

• Contribution to Nation’s GDP

Nepal ranks fourth in terms of remittance contribution to nation’s GDP, said the ‘Labor Migration for Employment – A Status Report for Nepal: 2015/16 – 2016/17’ by the Nepali Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security.

The report, also supported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), UN Migration Agency, International Labor Organization (ILO) and The Asia Foundation, placed Nepal in the top fourth position globally among the list of countries with large remittance contribution to GDP.

According to the Nepal Rastra Bank, the country received Rs 699 billion in remittances in the Fiscal Year 2016-17 with Rs 471 billion in the first eight months of the year (by mid-March).

The Department of Foreign Employment data shows a total of 246,324 fresh departures and an additional 172,424 Nepalis reentries to the destination countries during the same eight-month period.

• Concerns To be Addressed

The report also highlighted key concerns pertaining to recruitment and malpractices concerning the Nepali migrant labor.

As per the report, a total of 7,500 complaints involving high-level frauds and malpractices have been registered by the Nepali migrant labor community as part of their recruitment and employment abroad in the last three years period.

The report also released some alarming stats about the death of Nepali labor migrants in foreign destinations. The report recorded deaths of around 5, 892 Nepali migrant workers, 5,765 males and 127 females, in the last nine years in at least 28 foreign destinations.

Malaysia with 2,154 deaths topped the list, followed by Saudi Arabia (1,638), Qatar (1,203), the United Arab Emirates (427) and Kuwait (186), with significant deaths also recorded in other most-sought destinations such as Bahrain (77), Republic of Korea (77), Oman (47), Lebanon (20), and Afghanistan (19).

“To understand further, the causes of the migrant worker’s death, an in-depth investigation of the autopsies and medical records in the destination countries would require,” the report noted.

• Need of the Hour

“Sound data and accurate analysis are essential to formulate evidence-based policies and implement them effectively in Nepal, a country where over half of all households have at least one family member currently living abroad or living at home as a returnee,” says Paul Norton, Chief of Mission, IOM Nepal.

“This report is an important step for the government agencies and other stakeholders to work towards effective regulatory mechanisms to protect and promote migrants’ rights and well-being,” he added.

Stating that the report shed light on key areas for reforms in the foreign employment sector, Minister Bista said, “the Ministry will be working to make the foreign employment sector more transparent and result oriented, so the migrant workers feel the positive change in the sector immediately.”

On an End Note!

Marking the occasion of May Day on May 01, 2018, the Prime Minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli said the government is committed to protection and development of the Nepali working class who have been contributing to the country’s overall progress.

In an announcement, the Prime Minister also announced governmental preparations for minimal wage hike to guarantee systematic work under an appropriate wage system. 

Raising concern over large number of Nepali youth leaving to foreign destinations for career and employment, the Prime Minister informed that the government was working towards creating a labor-friendly environment in the country for utilizing the young human resources for overall development of the nation.

The government remains committed to the fundamental principles and treaties laid by the International Labor Organization.

Also Read: Nepal Employment Status

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Felipe González Morales, who was on an 8-day official visit to Nepal during January 29-February 5, 2018, analyzed the overall scenario of Nepali migrant labor in foreign destinations.

As part of the assessment, Morales held consultations with all the relevant stakeholders including government officials, recruiting agencies, migrants and their families, civil society organizations and trade unions, among others.

Recruitment, a Major Concern 

As the end-of-the-mission remarks, Morales said, “Important protection gaps continue to exist in law and challenges remain in enforcement, implementation and monitoring.”

An official statement has also been released in this regard on February 05, 2018, wherein, the UN official lauded governmental efforts such as introduction of the ‘Free Visa Free Ticket’ policy in 2015, among others.

The statement also highlighted various key challenges of migrant workers across foreign destinations and has made recommendations with regard to various sectors focused on migrant labor.

Morales made a special emphasis on the migrant recruitment procedures terming that as a very ‘complex process with a large number of actors’.

“While I recognize recruiters facilitate regular opportunities, whereby migrants arrive with a legitimate visa, I observed the sector is in practice very poorly regulated, allowing recruiters to often charge high recruitment fees,” he added.

The official found fault with the recruitment agencies that were found collecting as high as Rs 180,000 in recruiting fees.

Addressing the concern, Morales recommended that the Government of Nepal should initiate sufficient licensed recruiting agencies branches across the districts to avoid the presence of unlicensed subagents and other relevant malpractices.

“Decentralizing services that only take place in Kathmandu can also benefit aspirant migrant workers from other parts of the country,” adds Morales.

To Stop Labor Exploitation

The official also proposed the establishment an independent monitoring system to oversee the grievances of different stakeholders.

Pointing out at forced labor, labor trafficking and labor exploitation, Morales urged the government to initiate required probe into the issues.

“Despite existing legislation concerning human trafficking and forced labor, only victims’ complaints related to human trafficking of women and girls for the purpose of sexual exploitation were investigated and tried under the criminal justice system,” he added.

Women Migrants

Speaking on rights of women migrants, Morales urged the government to address the issues pertaining to the age limits of women migrant workers and restricts on women with children under two years of age.

This hurts their right to leave the country and increases their vulnerability to labor exploitation, he noted.

“Such provisions only drive migration further underground and a considerable number of Nepali women use irregular channels through India, often at hands of unscrupulous recruiters. I hence strongly urge Nepali authorities to develop a human rights based, holistic and comprehensive policy, aiming at better protection of women migrant workers in destination countries,” says Morales.

Policy Recommendations

Morales, in his preliminary observations, also made policy-level recommendations including good recruitment practices, reintegration sessions, development of bilateral labor agreements with the host countries in line with international standards, among others.

Besides, he also recommends strengthening of the legal and policy framework, data enhancement on the status of migrant workers, protection and assistance to irregular migrant workers, approval of international conventions, generating domestic jobs, making policies for ensuring skill development of labor and helping returnee workers for their sustainability in the domestic market, among other recommendations.    

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The survey carried out on Nepali migrant labor in Malaysia and Nepal concluded that almost two-thirds of survey respondents had to pay high and illegal recruitment fees to the recruitment agencies for foreign employment.

88% of the respondents in mobile phone survey of 414 Nepali migrant workers reported payment of fees to agents for overseas jobs. “Because these fees are so high, the majority had to borrow more than half the sum from village moneylenders, placing them in debt,” the report noted.

To meet such high demands of the middlemen, many workers are finding no way other than limiting themselves to low-paid jobs or remain exploited to clear their debts.

“Workers’ calculations about how they will repay these loans are often derailed by unpaid wages or other forms of labor exploitation,” concluded the report.

More than 53 percent of the surveyed reported lower monthly salaries than what was promised by the recruitment agents.

A Special Case

Such situation was reportedly found in case of Nepali migrant labor in Qatar working for the construction of stadiums for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Nepali migrant workers to Qatar working in the project are reportedly facing vicious cycle of debt and exploitation, the report noted.

Nepali labor working in Qatar are facing exploitation

This report comes as an additional pressure to FIFA that has been facing internal pressure from its advisory board with regard to Kafala System, a mechanism used in Gulf countries to monitor migrant labor and is often termed as ‘modern-day slavery’.

“Companies who employ migrant workers in the Gulf and Malaysia directly or through their suppliers or subcontractors also have a responsibility. They need to take steps to prevent exploitative labor recruitment,” said AI in its release.

AI further urged the concerned companies to ensure migrants, who have paid recruitment fees, are reimbursed. “Until they take action, they are reinforcing the debt trap that is destroying so many lives in Nepal,” the release added.

Weak Enforcement Laws

Stating that “Nepali migrant workers are being systematically and mercilessly set up,” the Deputy Director of AI’s Global Issues Program James Lynch noted that weak enforcement of relevant laws by the Nepali Government is resulting in this situation.

“Migrant workers all too often end up trapped in the soul-destroying situation of working abroad for years simply to pay off the huge, often illegal fees they were charged to take the job,” James added.

“Nepali Government’s failure to crack down on recruitment agencies, which charge illegal fees for jobs abroad, is leaving migrant workers trapped in a vicious cycle of debt and exploitation,” the report concluded.

This situation is seen despite the presence of governmental policies like ‘Free Visa, Free Ticket’ introduced in July 2015, and only 20% of the surveyed reported proper implementation of the same.

Deep Exploitation

After an analysis and review of 100 Nepali recruitment websites, AI found that that Nepali labor are being advertised as ‘loyal and completely dedicated to work even in adverse situations’.

“Disturbingly, some of these recruiters – who trap workers into bonded labor by saddling them with huge debts – market Nepali workers to prospective foreign clients by highlighting how unlikely they are to leave their jobs,” highlighted the report.

Matter of Urgency

Nepal is working with other labor-sending nations to address migrant workers concerns

Terming this as a matter of urgency, James Lynch urged the Nepali government and businesses to take necessary measures and control corruption in the Nepali recruitment industry to protect migrant workers.

“A good start would be to penalize recruitment agencies that are not complying with the law. Until companies take action, they are reinforcing the debt trap that is destroying so many lives in Nepal,” he added.

In line with the report, Bhuban K.C., a senior official in Nepali Labor Ministry, has reportedly informed that Nepal is working with other labor-sending nations like India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka towards necessary measures to protect migrant workers’ interests.

“We are raising our voice internationally to ensure that migrants are not cheated,” said Bhuban while also informing that the concerned authorities are offering compensations to the victims.

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Towards this end, Secretary at the Nepali Ministry of Labour and Employment Laxman Prasad Mainali requested ILO Director General (DG) Ryder to plan for green-jobs creation and skill development programs in Nepal.

Mainali made this proposal as part of his participation at the 331^st governing board meeting of ILO held in Geneva, in the first week of November 2017.

While informing that the Nepali youth migrating for foreign employment are in need of skill development programs, Mainali also urged the ILO Director to ensure safety of Nepali migrant labor working at foreign destinations.

“Nepal needs support to create jobs in the country for the youths to prevent them from going abroad and also to provide them opportunities when they return home after completing their contract,” said Mainali.

Meanwhile, Binda Pandey, a Deputy Member of the governing board of ILO and a representative of the Nepali team at the meeting, highlighted concerns of Nepali labor migrants with regard to work conditions and migration.

In this regard, Pandey requested ILO’s technical support to Nepal towards implementation of the social measures related to the new Labor Act such as labor inspection and capacity building.

On the occasion, Pandey proposed the extension of the Decent Work Country Program in Nepal for another five years.

In response, Ryder assured all the needed support from ILO with regard to job creation and addressing the concerns of labor migration, while urging on the need for safe and secure ways of managing migration.

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“As per the provision of the bilateral agreement, both countries will form the technical committee. The committee will play a major role to implement BLA and protect Nepali migrant workers in Jordan,” says Bhuwan Kumar Acharya, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MoLE) Nepal.

According to Acharya, Joint Secretaries of both the countries will lead the technical committee and form base for successful implementation of BLA.

As per the agreement, the joint committee will form another special committee to address the disputes between workers and the company they are working in and to provide security to Nepali migrant workers during their job tenure.

Free Visa and Ticket Under BLA

The Labor and Employment Minister of Nepal Farmullha Mansur and his Jordanian counterpart Ali Ghezawi signed BLA in Kathmandu on October 18, 2017.

BLA ensures free visa and ticket for the Nepali migrant workers working/moving to work in Jordan for employment.

Nepali migrants are already enjoying similar services in case of foreign destinations such as Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Malaysia and Oman, and Jordan is joined the list with BLA.

Under BLA, both the governments have also agreed to select migrant workers without subjecting them to any cost burden, issue authentic contract paper and provide full insurance during the contract period along with a minimum salary.

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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.

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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.

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Nepal is keen on boosting its bilateral relations with Oman, which became evident in a recent meeting between the officials of both the countries.

In a meeting with Shaikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Abdullah Al Bakri, Minister for Manpower, Sultanate of Oman, Nepal Ambassador to Oman Sarmila Parajuli Dhakal pitched on the need for enhancing ties between the two countries through labor diplomacy.

In this regard, Dhakal expressed Nepal’s willingness to send more skilled manpower to work in various sectors of Oman, such as health, tourism, fishing, mining, infrastructure and manufacturing.

Dhakal lauded the Government of Oman for hosting and providing employment opportunities to Nepalese.

The Ambassador also discussed other areas of cooperation, such as engineering, health, hospitality, tourism sectors, among others, where Nepal has semi-skilled and skilled human resources.

In response, the Omani Minister said Omani labor laws are similar for Omani and non-Omani labor working in the country. He informed that Oman has a special separate ministerial decree to regulate issues related to women labor.

Al Bakri also informed Nepali Ambassador about new online services launched by the Omani Ministry of Manpower to help public register their grievances online.

The Omani Minister congratulated the Nepali Ambassador for her appointment as the first Ambassador of Nepal to the Sultanate of Oman.

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