Ashok Thapa

The Department of Labor (DoL) will soon begin identifying and recording details of foreign nationals working in the country. It has decided to conduct a study after non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) cold-shouldered its recent initiatives to secure details of foreigners working with NGOs and INGOs so that they can be made to comply with work-permit rules. Only around 500 foreign workers responded to the department´s call.

As a result of massive non-compliance to its order, DoL is left with no definite record of volunteers and professionals working in Nepal. Nonetheless, DoL estimates that more than 20,000 foreign nationals are working with NGOs and INGOs alone.

As of today, only around 7,000 foreigners are currently working in the private sector with work permits from DoI. However, government and private sector organizations estimate the actual number of foreign nationals working in Nepal to be over 50,000.

"We are all set to begin the study to gather information about foreign workers working in various organizations in the country ranging from sports to services and industrial sectors to diplomatic missions - be it embassies or UN mission - in Nepal," said Dr Man Bahadur BK, director general of DoL.

He said the study and monitoring will go simultaneously, which will seriously screen out the workers continuing to work without receiving due permit from the department.

"We have decided to take the initiatives in order to ensure effective implementation of the Labor Act and also to develop database of foreign nationals working in the country," said BK.

He said that Non-Nepali Employee Monitoring Committee (NNEMC) of the department has developed an action plan for monitoring overseas workers in all sectors.

"The committee has prepared a list of multinational companies and organizations employing foreign staff without due work permit," said Krishna Hari Puskar, under-secretary at the Ministry of Labor and Transport Management (MoLTM). "We will check out their employment and compliance records during the study," he added.

DoL officials said the department will take action against the organizations which have been employing foreign workers without work permit and it will also recommend the government to take action against them.

Published on: 31 August 2011 | Republica