Ramesh Shrestha

Diplomatic missions and I/NGOs have given a cold response to the government’s request to furnish details about their non-Nepali employees. Only 14 organisations so far have submitted the details to the department.

This is not all. Even the ministries concerned seem reluctant to arrest the trend of foreigners working here illegally without employment permit.

It has nearly been three months since the Ministry of Labour and Transport Management started the work to bring foreign workers into a legal frame.

However, according to ministry officials, the work could not make progress as anticipated due to lack of support from other ministries, resources and delay in formation of separate inspection teams.

On top of that, organisations are also reluctant to provide details of their foreign staffers despite correspondence and public notice to this effect.

“We have not received good cooperation mainly from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Finance to this initiative,” said Krishna Hari Pushkar Karna, assistant spokesperson for the Ministry of Labour and Transport Management.

Karna added that the newly endorsed diplomatic code of conduct would also lengthen the planed inspections, as it bars any types of meetings with diplomatic organisations without consent of foreign ministry.

The government has already formed a Non-Nepali Employee Monitoring Committee headed by Man Bahadur BK, director general of the Department of Labour, to look over the issue seriously.

The committee held correspondence with other ministers concerned and a number of diplomatic missions, seeking details of non-Nepali workers. However, only around a dozen of I/NGOs submitted the details, while some including GIZ Nepal have refused to submit the information saying that their foreigner recruitments are based on the bilateral agreement with the finance ministry.

So far, the United Mission to Nepal (UMN), International Development Enterprises-Nepal, Plan Nepal, Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA )-Nepal, Mission East Nepal, the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission (FELM) Nepal, Next Generation Nepal and Good Neighbours (NG)-Nepal, including some others INGOs, have submitted information about their non-Nepali workers the labour department.

“We failed to receive information as expected from organisations,” said BK, adding that they will form inspection panels involving officials from ministers or government agencies concerned within a week to start scrutinising organisations hiring foreigners across the country.

So far, the Department of Industry, Ministry of Information and Communications, Nepal Electricity Authority, Ministry of Youth and Sports and Immigration Department have deputed their officials for monitoring. However, key ministries such as foreign ministry and Ministry of Women Children and Social Welfare are yet to take such initiatives.

BK said the delay in deputing monitoring officials from the ministries has affected monitoring. “We will start monitoring immediately after the Dashain vacation and conduct an independent study on foreign workers in Nepal to help the government come up with an effective policy,” said BK.

Published on: 27 September 2011 | The Kathmandu Post