Chandan Kumar Mandal

The government is preparing to amend a provision in the Foreign Employment Act that requires recruiting agencies to send at least 100 workers abroad every year for two consecutive years to have their license renewed. 

The contentious provision had become part of the law after Parliament passed the fifth amendment to the Foreign Employment Act (2007) in March last year. Recruiting agencies have long been lobbying against the provision saying it puts undue pressure on them to send workers abroad. 

Now as the country reels under the impacts of Covid-19, the government is preparing to repeal the provision—the issue was discussed during the Cabinet meeting last week. An official at the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security told the Post that the ministry did not formally come up with the proposal. 

“The proposal must have been taken to the Cabinet for approval by officials high up,” said the official, who is not allowed to speak to the media. “The labour ministry did not formally prepare the proposal.” 

The Covid-19 outbreak has affected the labour migration sector hard as departure of Nepali migrant workers to labour destinations remains suspended after the government stopped issuing labour permits. 

According to Suman Ghimire, spokesperson for the labour ministry, the amendment was being considered in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis. 

“The foreign employment sector is also affected by the global pandemic of Covid-19. The decision has been taken to address their concerns,” said Ghimire. “The amendment is being made considering the special circumstances in the wake of Covid-19. We will consult with stakeholders before amending the provision.” 

Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies, an organisation of 760 recruiting agencies, has welcomed the government decision. 

However, labour migration experts believe that the move will set a bad precedent for the labour governance sector in the long run. 

“The Covid-19 outbreak has invited a difficult situation for all sectors. But that doesn’t mean we go on relaxing provisions in the law,” said Swarna Kumar Jha, a labour migration researcher with the National Network for Safe Migration, an umbrella network of various organisations working in the field of labour migration. 

“The impacts of Covid-19 will be felt for a few months. The government should have rather relaxed the provision after a few months. Once we remove the provision, it is not going to be easy to get it back up.” 

The Gokarna Bista-led the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social security had introduced the provision as part of its efforts to limit the number of recruiting agencies in the country. 

The fifth amendment, which had also hiked the guarantee deposits for recruiting agencies, ultimately worked and the number of such agencies came down to 848 from 1,323. 

“The move was part of measures to overhaul the labour migration sector of the country and it seemed to be effective in stopping the mushrooming of small agencies,” said Jha. 

“If they are to send 100 workers a year, it means they have to process nine a month. If they cannot send even nine, then what is the significance of their existence?”

Published on: 7 April 2020 | The Kathmandu Post