"The department is committed to supporting the CIAA investigation and serving the public. But reforms must be introduced to make the workings of the DoFE smooth and efficient."
- Krishna Hari Pushkar, DoFE Director General 

Following the arrest of nine officials of the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) including its director general Wednesday by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), a group of DoFE staffers met the Minister of Labor Thursday and asked for their group transfer claiming that they felt insecure.

People applying for work permits at DoFE through manpower agencies could not get permits Thursday as the staffers were not in the mood to work following their colleagues´ arrest. 

This is the second time the CIAA arrested DoFE officials on the charge of committing irregularities while issuing work permits. CIAA, which had filed a case at the Special Court against then DoFE Director Ramesh Prasad Mainali and others in December on the charge of swindling youths leaving for foreign employment, arrested Director Chiranjivi Adhikari and eight others Wednesday. 

On Friday, the Special Court remanded the nine officials to CIAA custody for 10 days. 

Government officials said this episode has highlighted the need for reforms in the working procedure of DoFE.

"Following the arrest of their colleagues, staffers expressed dissatisfaction but they resumed work from Thursday afternoon," said Krishna Hari Pushkar, the director general at DoFE.

Following the arrests on Wednesday, Pushkar spent hours discussing the issue with DoFE staffers and officials of the Ministry of Labor and Empoyment.

"The staffers at the department complained that they face charges although they have been working honestly in accordance with the Foreign Employment Act. They also complained that the laws are problematic but the authorities like CIAA are looking into the cases mechanically," said Pushkar. "On the other hand, they also complained that they were burdened with too much work while the record keeping system at the department was not proper," he added.

Following the complaints, officials at the Ministry of Labor asked DoFE staffers to resume work while promising to bring necessary reforms at DoFE.

"We have assured the staffers that the reforms would be introduced by making necessary amendments to the act and the regulations," said Pushkar.

"The department is committed to supporting the CIAA investigation and serving the public. But reforms must be introduced to make the workings of the DoFE smooth and efficient," he added.

Published on: 22 March 2014 | Republica