Nepali ambassador to Qatar Dr Maya Kumari Sharma has said that the demand from the destination will not fall because of the Nepali government’s new salary scale for the country. Qatar — organiser of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Football — has a large demand for construction workers, so there is no chance of the demand dropping, she said. 

The government hiked the salary of Nepali workers bound for Qatar last month. The Ministry of Labour and Employment has increased the salary from Qatari Riyal 800 (Rs 19,000) to Qatari Riyal 1,200 (Rs 28,500) for unskilled workers, Qatari Riyal 1,400 (Rs 33,000) for semi-skilled, and Qatari Riyal 1,800 (Rs 42,000) for skilled workers. 

Qatar had the world’s highest gross domestic product per capita — $109,000 (Rs 9.41 million) — in 2012. Its economy started looking up in 2002 with a double digit growth in later years. 

However, outsourcers reject her claim and say that demand for workers from Qatar has been falling gradually. “Qatar is looking for workers from other cheap destinations,” said president of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies Bal Bahadur Tamang. Therefore, the government must revoke the decision and let the salary be decided by the market, he added. 

According to outsourcers, they are not receiving demand from Qatar due to the increased salary structure. “We are fabricating demands to meet the government standard,” said an outsourcer Hansh Raj Wagle. “Workers joining jobs in Qatar are just getting Qatari Riyal 900-1,000. Outsourcers have been taking permits by submitting false documents,” he said. 

Outsourcers have been doing so by taking help from politicians and bureaucrats. “The irresponsible behaviour of government agencies has been fuelling ‘setting’ based migration these days. The government is not listening to the concerns of registered agencies,” said an outsourcer Kumud Khanal. 

Qatar is a popular destination among migrants. About 500,000 Nepalis are believed to be working there, mainly in construction and manufacturing sectors that employ unskilled workers. According to Department of Foreign Employment, about 59,565 joined Qatari jobs in first month of current fiscal. 

Published on: 27 February 2013 | The Himalayan Times