The 854 manpower agencies in the country were collapsed as the business came to a screeching halt five months ago. The companies are not able to send the migrant workers abroad as the labor destinations are in the throes of a recession due to the coronavirus pandemic. Moreover, most Nepali migrant workers have already returned home from various countries as they lost their jobs.

The entire manpower business is in a dire situation as it has to deal with the daily expenses, employee salaries and other business costs.

According to the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies, around 10,000 employees in the manpower sector have lost their jobs.

Most of the staff is on unpaid leave as the manpower agency owners cannot pay even the rent. At least 50% of the manpower agency owners must have been forced to sell off their ancestral property.

Moreover, the agency owners are in debt as they are forced to take loans in order to pay the ‘increased’ deposit amount last year.

According to the new law, the agencies are supposed to deposit NPR 20 to 60 million (depending on the number of workers sent abroad).

Earlier, it was just NPR 700,000 of cash deposit and NPR 2.3 million of bank guarantee.

So, 854 manpower agency owners across the country deposited the said amount by mid-September last year by taking loans.

If things have gone smoothly, the agencies could have sent a considerable number of workers abroad and made a good income in the last few months. But the pandemic has disrupted their goals.

“But everything is in a mess now. Even labor permits were stopped after March,” exclaimed Sujit Kumar Shrestha, General Secretary of Association.

Even though the Nepali Government has lifted the nationwide lockdown, the manpower companies are unsure when the business will bounce back.

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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.

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This is very appalling, especially when the migrant workers are already in miserable conditions with no employment and money due to coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier, the UAE Government has decided to automatically renew visas, exempt all applicable fines and extend the expiry date of all IDs until December in view of COVID-19.

However, the UAE Cabinet has amended all the decisions related to amnesty, visa fine waivers and validity extensions adopted to relieve people during the pandemic.

According to the new resolutions that came into effect from July 11, 2020

• Visit visa holders, whose visa expired earlier on March 1, should leave the country by August 12
• Visit visa holders who want to stay in the country should renew their visas by paying applicable tax and fine amount
• Resident visas holders, whose visa expired in March and April, should renew their visas within a month from July 12
• Resident visa holders, whose visa expired after July 11, should apply for a new visa

If one fails to renew their visa or leave the UAE within the stipulated deadline, they are liable to the fines as per the UAE’s immigration law.

As per the law, NPR 4,000 to 9,000 will be fined for the first day and NPR 800 to 3,000 per day from the second day.

According to the Non-Resident Nepalese Association (NRNA), as many as 50,000 Nepali migrant workers in UAE are left unpaid since the coronavirus outbreak.

Issuing a statement on July 14, the NRNA has urged the government to resume regular international flights and rescue flights for the time being so that the stranded Nepalis can avoid any punishment due to visa-related issues.

“Those who have already lost their jobs cannot pay such a huge amount of money in fine. Therefore, it is important for the government to increase the number of rescue flights at the earliest,” said NRNA.

However, the Nepali Embassy in Abu Dhabi seems to be reluctant to address the issues of migrant workers.

The Embassy has received huge criticism for its inability to take any proactive initiatives to resolve the issues.

The post UAE Updates Visa Rules, Puts Nepali Migrant Workers in Dismay! appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Lately, the manpower companies have fallen prey to the coronavirus pandemic.

As many as 516 manpower agencies in Nepal are on the verge of collapse as the employment providing companies in foreign countries are severely hit by the pandemic.

As per the provision of the Foreign Employment Act, 2007, a manpower agency will be scrapped if it does not send at least 100 migrant workers to a foreign country.

Recently, the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) has ordered the manpower companies to submit details of at least 100 workers sent abroad in the last two fiscal years in order to get the renewal.

The manpower agencies are reeling under high crisis as most of the Nepali migrant workers stranded in foreign lands are returning home as they lost their jobs.

According to the DoFE, around 127,000 Nepali migrants are expected to return home immediately while another 407,000 others are expected to return in the long run.

Among them, nearly 280,000 Nepalis have already lost their jobs as the labor destinations are in the throes of a recession due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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The Supreme Court has ordered the Nepali Government to rescue vulnerable Nepali nationals living in countries highly affected by the coronavirus.

The Supreme Court’s order comes on the heels of the Nepali Government’s decision to impede the enter of any Nepali migrant worker in a bid to contain the possible spread of coronavirus to the country.

Earlier, the Nepali Government has urged the Nepali migrant workers to stay in their respective countries until further notice and ordered the concerned Nepali Embassies to provide necessary assistance to the needy.

In response, Advocate Som Prasad Luitel filed a petition urging the Supreme Court to protect and honour the rights of the larger number of Nepalis living in pitiable conditions in various countries.

Responding to the petition, a single bench of Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla has ordered the government to initiate necessary measures to repatriate Nepalis having hard time in foreign countries.

“No matter where Nepalis are, it is the duty of a legitimate government to address their health, security and other needs,” stated Supreme Court.

“The State cannot ignore a situation where the Nepali migrant workers, who have a significant contribution to the country’s economy, lie in a very poor, unsafe and unhealthy situation after losing their job,” said Supreme Court. “Immediate and effective additional measures are warranted in the case of the citizens in foreign employment in the present situation of a worldwide pandemic.”

According to the Non-Resident Nepalis’ Association (NRNA), around 77% of the Nepalis living in various foreign countries are desperate to return Nepal.

Most of the Nepalis in the middle east countries have already lost their jobs and are on the verge of financial crisis.

The apex court has ordered the government to use the ‘Migrant Labour Workers Welfare Fund’ to repatriate the vulnerable Nepalis from foreign countries and provide them relief.

So far, coronavirus has spread to 210 countries and territories and has infected 2,183,964 people while claiming 146,881 lives.

However, there are only 16 coronavirus positive cases in Nepal.

Stay Tuned to NepaliSansar.com for Latest Updates on COVID-19!

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• COVID-19 Threat: 77% Nepalis Desperate to Return Home
• COVID-19 Pandemic: Nepal Collects Only NPR 42 Billion Taxes

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The Malaysian Government agreed to implement the MoU forward that was signed on October 29, 2018 at the bilateral technical committee meeting held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia between September 10-12, 2019.

Nepal Labor, Employment and Social Security Ministry Senior Joint-Secretary Dr. Ram Prasad Ghimire, who headed the Nepali delegation in the meeting at Kuala Lumpur, said that the Malaysian Government has expressed its agreement to the MoU in writing to hire Nepali Workers as per the Nepal-Malaysia Labor Pact.

The Malaysian delegation was headed by Policy Division of Human Resources Development Ministry Betty Hasan.

The MoU implementation was delayed due to the Malaysian Government’s lack of willingness to do so. The Malaysian side also seemed disinterested in calling for a meeting with the Nepali side.

Provisions of the Nepal-Malaysia MoU

As per the Nepal-Malaysia Labor Pact provisions, all costs involved in recruiting Nepali migrants to Malaysian jobs will be incurred by the Malaysian employers. Nepali workers will not have to pay any fee for recruitment.

Costs incurred by Malaysian employers include:

• Service tax
• Cost of two-way air ticket
• Medical check-up costs
• Security check

Moreover, the MoU provisions that Nepali employees need not pay additional charges that they used to pay earlier.

The MoU has reduced the contract period of Nepali migrant workers to two years, unlike the earlier period three years.

Remuneration to the employees will not be less than the minimum salary fixed by the Malaysian Government and will be paid before the 7^th of every month in the employee’s bank account.

The accident insurance and health insurance provisions applicable as per Malaysian labor laws will be equally applicable to Nepali migrant workers.

The MoU mandates that the Malaysian Government should extend the same protection to Nepali migrant workers as it does for Malaysian employees.

In case of a family member’s demise, Nepali migrant workers will be allowed to visit their home country for 15 days.

In the event of injury, mutilation or death of a Nepali migrant workers, the Malaysian employer should inform the Nepal Embassy. The Malaysian employer will be responsible to send the worker’s dead body back to Nepal.

The Nepal Government has already provided a list of 122 health institutions eligible for carrying out medical tests for aspiring Nepali workers in line with the standards enlisted in the labor pact.

The post Malaysia-Nepal Labor Pact Comes Into Effect After Malaysian Govt. Agrees On Implementation appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Moreover, if the migrant workers wish to go to other countries besides the enlisted ones then the government does not provide permits for the same.

Despite this mandate, Nepali migrant workers are employed in more than 189 countries and the Himalayan nation received remittances from 17 new job destinations, including Antigua, Barbuda, Bosnia, Burundi, Cuba, Curacao, Falkland Islands, Grenada, Guam, Guyana, Haiti, Herzegovina, Iran, Sierra Islands and Solomon Islands.

This trend is being observed for a last couple of years, leading to a gradual growth in Nepal’s remittances from some new countries.

According to Nepal Rastra Bank data, Nepal remittances increased in the last five years by 33.9 percent.

Furthermore, statistics furnished by the Department of Foreign Employment (DFE) reveals that around 37,00,000 Nepali workers are employed in various world nations.

Considering the above government norm, it has been observed that Nepal migrant workers go abroad for employment using two means – an organizational process through manpower agencies and an informal process viable through personal contacts.

And in other possibilities, Nepali workers move from country to country to apply for jobs during their employment tenure outside Nepal.

Surprisingly, Nepali workers by means of manpower agencies took employment in 110 countries and on the other hand workers applying for jobs via personal contacts visited as many as 172 countries.

A Nepal Rastra Bank spokesperson Laxmi Panna Niraula advocates that if remittances are the criteria, then Nepali workers have reached 189 countries.

Therefore, it is essential that if the Nepal Government wants to see a continued growth in its remittances, then it needs to increase the scope of its official permits to foreign employment in various countries.

The post Nepal Source of Remittances – A Glance at the Current Scenario, Scope of Growth and Beyond appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

All candidates who cleared the Korean Language Test (KLT) the under the Employment Scheme (EPS) will be giving their skill test between August 21-September 04, 2019.

According to EPS Korea Section, candidates will have to fill forms between July 05-14, 2019 for the upcoming test.

The marks weightage for the skills test is 110 marks. On the other hand, the marks weightage for the agriculture and manufacturing categories under KLT was 90 and 100 marks, respectively.

Nepali Sansar wishes all the candidates good luck for their upcoming test.

The post Nepal EPS Level 2: After KLT, Skill Test for Korean Employment Next! appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The government said that the workers should undergo mandatory skill development training program to get work permits starting from June 01, 2019.

Besides, those applying for foreign work permits should disclose their professional skill certificate under the Foreign Employment Act, 2064, says Bhola Nath Adhikari, Ministry spokesperson.

This decision is coming in the backdrop of skill-related challenges being faced by Nepali youth across foreign destinations.

The concerned department has already begun searching for institutes that provide professional training to foreign job aspirants across the local and provincial levels.

The training will be offered in five key areas such as cook, security guard, waiter, steel fixers, wiring electrician, cleaner, housekeeping, plumbing and scaffolding.

According to the department statistics, around 70 percent of Nepali migrant workforce going abroad are unskilled.

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Under the revised agreement, the two governments intend to offer following benefits to Nepali migrant workers travelling to UAE:

• Hiring at no cost
• Employers will bear the expenses related to two-way air travel, visa, recruitment services, health check-up, accommodation and security screening
• Employers will process the payments via banking channel by the 10^th day of every month
• Nepal Labor Ministry has developed a ‘wage protection system’ that will be monitored by a new committee to be setup
• A new medical and work insurance system to take care of employees’ general medical expenses, death and accident, among other issues, along with equal treatment in insurance and security cover
• Special provision for housemaids very soon, supporting Nepali women migrant workers
• Employees can leave without no-objection letter from the employer

 “If the employer firms do not pay the wages by the 10th day of the month, the joint mechanism will take action against the erring firms,” says Ram Prasad Ghimire, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security.

Ghimire and UAE Foreign Relation Director Abdullah Al Nuaimi signed the final draft of the discussion in a recent meeting.

The labor agreement with UAE is expected to be signed within May 2019. Its implementation will replace the existing labor agreement signed in 2007.

According to Ghimire, the government is also planning to new labor agreements with Qatar and Oman very soon.

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