Nepal’s manpower agencies have called off their planned protest after the government assured them that their major concerns would be addressed within 45 days.
The decision followed an agreement reached between representatives of foreign employment agencies and the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security on Monday. According to the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA), the government has committed to addressing the 15-point demands raised by foreign employment entrepreneurs within the next one and a half months.
NAFEA General Secretary Hari Dangi said manpower agencies would resume their regular operations from Tuesday.
One of the association’s major demands is the withdrawal of action taken by the Department of Foreign Employment against several manpower companies. The agencies have also called for amendments to the Foreign Employment Act 2007 to ensure greater transparency in costs borne by migrant workers and to establish a scientific basis for determining recruitment service fees.
Foreign employment entrepreneurs have also raised concerns over the rising cost of airfares and what they describe as an artificial shortage of airline tickets to major labour destinations. They have urged the government to intervene to prevent practices that unnecessarily increase the cost of overseas employment for Nepali workers.
The association has further demanded the introduction of a fully automated system for labour-demand verification and labour approval to make the foreign employment process more efficient and transparent.
NAFEA has also called for diplomatic initiatives to dismantle what it describes as syndicates and monopolistic practices involving intermediaries in Saudi Arabia’s visa and biometric processing, police report verification in the United Arab Emirates, and labour recruitment in Malaysia.
The agreement has temporarily averted the planned protest, with the manpower agencies now expecting the government to take concrete steps to address their demands within the promised 45-day period.
