Nepalis joining foreign jobs through their own initiation surpassed the number going abroad through outsourcing agencies in Shrawan (mid-July to mid-August) making authorities and people involved in the business worried. About 22,622 of the total 45,165 overseas job aspirants have joined jobs abroad on their own initiation last month, according to the data.

Rising individual contracts are bad for the country as there will be no responsible agencies behind them, said senior vice-president of Foreign Employment Association Madan Mahat. “We have demanded government to stop individual contracts,” he said, adding that the trend has to be stopped for the safety of workers.

Individual contracts have been in rising trend since last year. About 30 per cent people used to join foreign jobs on their own initiation in early 2010 and it has risen to 43 per cent at the end of year. About 152,000 Nepalis — which is almost the half of the total Nepali migrant workers — reached to more than six dozen destination countries through their own initiation in the fiscal year 2010-11.

Department of Foreign Employment is also worried due to the new trend.

Published on: 7 September 2011 | The Himalayan Times