According to the Department of Foreign Employment, 54,623 individuals left the country for jobs abroad through institutional arrangement in the first quarter. The figure was at 62,271 in the same period last year.The reason behind the decline, according to department officials, is the rise in departure through individual contracts. The first three months of the current fiscal year saw a dramatic surge in departure of migrant workers through individual contracts. The department’s statistics show that such departures increased by a whopping 236.23 percent.

 

Foreign employment aspirants leave the country for jobs through agencies and also through personal contacts or individual approach. The number of workers going abroad through both the means in the first quarter stands at 109,554, including 54,931 individuals leaving through personal approach.Officials at the department say the festive season also played a crucial role in the slowdown. “The overall departure of workers in mid-Sept and mid-Oct of the Q1 declined drastically due to the festive season,” said Kashi Raj Dahal, director at the department.

 

According to Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies, the government’s inability to provide machine readable passports (MRPs) from major districts and slowdown in demand from Malaysia also played a crucial role in decline in institutional departures.

As Malaysia accepts workers only through institutional means, slowdown in demand from the country brought down workers’ institutional departure. The first three months of 2011-12 saw Malaysia hiring 23,503 workers, against 33,239 in same period last year. Qatar has taken 36,385 workers, including 28,900 who went through personal approach. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirate and Kuwait absorbed 22,393, 16,816 and 5,138 workers, respectively.

 

“The demand has not declined, but we are not being able to supply the workforce because of the delay by the government to provide machine readable passports from major districts such as Dhanusha, Siraha, Nawalparasi and Dang,” said Kumud Khanal, general secretary of the association, adding that these districts annually send over 10,000 individuals in Gulf countries and Malaysia.

 

Departure

Quarter/Year    Institutional Way    Individual Contracts     Total

Q1 2011-12    54,623                   54,931                       109,554

Q1 2010-11    62,271                   16,337                       78,608

 

Top Five Labour Destinations

Country             Q1 2011/12    Q1 2010/11    % Change

Qatar                 36,385            16,136            125.48

Malaysia            23,503            33,239           -29.29

Saudi Arabia      22,393            15,149             47.81

The UAE           16,816             9,152             83.74

Kuwait               5,138              1,825             181.53

Others                5,319              3,107              71.19