UAE asks Nepal to annul ban on housemaids

Kathmandu, November 8: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government has asked Nepal to annul foreign employment restrictions currently being applied for housemaids.

The UAE made such appeal during the recently concluded first meeting of bilateral labour-related joint working committee between the two countries.

Following the incidences of women workers suffering mental and physical abuses in the Gulf countries, the Nepal government has been barring such workers from seeking jobs as domestic help there.

It is learnt that the UAE government is willing to hire a large number of domestic workers under different categories from Nepal. Such workers could be governesses, nurses, housekeepers, cooks etc.

During the meeting, both the countries also agreed to effectively implement and enforce bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on labour agreement signed on June 14. Similarly, they decided to set up a labour database. This is expected to make the entire migration process of Nepali workers going to the UAE for employment more transparent.

Moreover, the two-day meeting also finalised the issues regarding the effective enforcement of the MoU and fixing of the cost in regard to the recruitment of workers and employment and their return, among others