The government has submitted a draft of the labour pact to Malaysia — the most preferred job destination among Nepali migrant workers. It is the third time that the government has submitted such a draft in the last two years but the Malaysian government has been ignoring the proposals. 

The government submitted the draft to the Malaysian labour department on Wednesday, said director of the Foreign Employment Promotion Board Tika Bhandari. “Malaysia is positive about it, therefore, we expect the labour pact to be signed this time,” he said. 

About 600,000 Nepalis are believed to be working in Malaysia but there is no labour pact between the two countries since 2007. Nepal had tried to renew the labour pact in 2011. 

The Department of Foreign Employment is hopeful about the labour pact being signed this time. “We have been repeatedly exchanging the draft. Last time, it could not take place due to elections in Malaysia,” said director general of the department Binod KC.

Last time, Malaysia had proposed direct recruitment of Nepali workers bypassing outsourcing agencies but the Nepali government did not accept it as it is against the Foreign Employment Act 2007. However, the government has not followed the law in sending workers to South Korea and is trying to start government-to-government process for sending caregivers to Israel. 

According to Bhandari, the proposed draft aims to address issues related to workers’ health management, wage, insurance, social security and other concerns. The Malaysian government has shown concern over increasing medical problems among Nepali workers.

Published on: 22 June 2013 | The Himalayan Times