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Nepal – Zero-cost migration policy comes into effect

07 July 2015

Nepal has stopped issuing labour permits to migrant workers whose air tickets and visa fees are not being paid by their prospective employers, reports nepalitimes.com.

The government implemented its zero-cost migration policy from Monday denying migrant workers labour permits to work in Malaysia and six countries in the Gulf; namely Saudi Arabai, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, UAE, and Kuwait.

Staffing firms have vehemently criticised the policy, saying it is not practical, warning that migrant workers from Bangladesh might grab all job opportunities in the region if Nepal does not abandon its new policy.

On Monday, dozens of overseas recruitment agents turned up at a Kathmandu office of the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) to seek labour permits for their clients. None, however, received labour permits for their clients because they did not have letters written by employers committing to provide air tickets and visa fees.

Bishwo Prakash Subedi, an under-secretary at the DoFE, commented: “From today, we can issue labour permits to only those migrant workers whose applications are attached with letters by employers ready to pay for their air tickets and visa fees. And these employers’ letters should be attested by our embassies in Malaysia and the Gulf.”

Labour Minister Tek Bahadur Gurung earlier told Nepali Times that the zero-cost policy was to end exploitation of migrant workers: “Well-established employer companies are always ready to pay for migrant workers’ air tickets and visa fees. Only those companies that do not pay good salaries are not ready to provide these facilities, and we do not want them to hire our migrant workers.”

The government’s new move has angered staffing firms, who have been lobbying for the withdrawal of the zero-cost policy. They recently met Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and urged him to revoke the policy, which they say will have negative impacts on the remittance-driven economy.

Labour Miniser Gurung, however, said that the recruitment agents are against the new policy as it prevents them from “fleecing” poor and helpless migrant workers. As per the new policy, they can charge migrant workers only around NPR 20,000 (USD 193). Previously, migrant workers would have to pay anything between NPR 70,000 (USD 677) to NPR 120,000 (USD 1,160).

After the new policy came into effect, recruitment agents who do not have letters from the prospective employer committing to pay for air tickets and visa fees have been unable to obtain labour permits for their clients.