Nepali manpower agencies say that the vexed process of sending workers overseas and the difficulties of obtaining machine-readable passports (MRPs) have compounded the challenge of supplying the unskilled workers demanded by Qatar.The Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) recently adopted a string of new measures making it harder for manpower agencies to send migrant workers to the Gulf."Basically, Qatar needs unskilled workers for the construction of soccer stadiums and metro rail lines for the World Cup. However, most Nepali workers prefer indoor jobs over construction work," says Som Lal Bataju, chairman of the Nepalese Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA), adding, "This is why there has been a huge shortage of Nepali workers available for sending to Qatar. The process of sending workers to the Gulf, which was relatively easy until some time ago, coupled with the difficulty of obtaining passports, have of course added to the woes."

 

It is not clear how many workers Qatar requires from Nepal since there is no single mechanism overseeing the labor demand from any Gulf country. "All we can say at the moment is Qatar needs thousands of workers from Nepal, like never before," says Narayan Parajuli, director of Prudential Manpower Agency, which has been sending Nepalis to Qatar. "We are able to supply hardly 30 per cent of Qatar´s demand for construction workers." Parajuli´s manpower agency has been receiving a quota of at least 500 unskilled workers from different Qatari construction companies in recent months. Parajuli, however, says, "It´s hard for us to find enough workers willing to go to Qatar." 

 

According to Parajuli, some Qatari companies have offered to pay air fare and visa fees to overcome the shortage of Nepali migrant workers."Nepali workers can go to Qatar without having to pay for medical check up and insurance," he says. "Despite all this, not many workers are available."A.N.S. Associates (Pvt) Ltd, one of Nepal´s leading manpower agencies, has been asked by a Qatari company to send at least 4,000 workers.

 

"Recently, representatives of the company visited Nepal to seek workers. They have demanded at least 4,000 workers from my agency alone," says Kusang Sherpa, director of A.N.S. Associates, adding, "They are currently building a large camp to house migrant workers. They are expected to finish work on the camp in two months. We´ll have to begin supplying the workers after that. However, given the current situation, it´s a little difficult for us to send workers on such a large scale."  

 

An unskilled worker generally earns the equivalent of over Rs 22,000 in Qatar, apart from food and lodging. "Some companies are taking workers without requiring them to pay a single penny," says NAFEA President Bataju, adding, "Generally, workers need to pay agents Rs 20,000-70,000 to go to Qatar." The demand for Nepali workers is high partly because Qatar has not been taking workers from Bangladesh for the last few years. 

 

"But if we fail to meet the supply, Qatar may start taking Bangladeshi workers again," says Sherpa of A.N.S. Associates. "In fact I´ve heard from my Qatar-based business partners that Qatar is seriously thinking of looking to Bangladesh for construction workers." 

 

Qatar recently overtook Malaysia and Saudi Arabia -- two most popular job destinations for Nepali workers -- in the number of unskilled laborers it brings from Nepal. In the month of Kartik (mid October-mid November) alone, Qatar hired 12,875 unskilled workers from Nepal -- far higher than any other Gulf country or Malaysia.