The Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) is planning to expand its offices across the country to provide better services to foreign job aspirants. About 556,790 Nepalis — 403,090 new workers and 153,700 reentrants — entered foreign job markets in the first 11 months of current fiscal year.

DoFE is exploring the possibilities to expand its office in all the development regions, said director at the department Diwash Acharya. “We have started a study to reach out to people at the regional level at least,” he said. The country has five development regions.

According to the department, new offices will provide services to reentrants and monitor activities of agents. More than 10,000 unregistered agents have been involved in the foreign employment process. Similarly, the department is planning to hand over the rights of issuing foreign job permits to reentrants to the regional offices.

About 14,000 Nepalis have been reentering foreign job markets every month, therefore regional offices will be helpful, said Acharya, adding that regular monitoring through the regional offices will help reduce the number of fraud cases in the outsourcing sector.

DoFE has recorded about 2,057 fraud cases worth Rs 1.06 billion till mid-June. Most of the cases are related to agents but outsourcing agencies also have been engaged in cheating foreign job aspirants and trafficking innocent workers.

About 1,132 cases have been registered against individual agents and 943 against outsourcing agencies.

The International Organisation for Migration and Migration Policy Institute had identified weak monitoring mechanism and improper orientation as major causes behind the growing fraud cases in its report in July 2012. The government has been successful in reducing the number of outsourcing fraud cases following the 30-point reform plan in November 2012 but it has failed to pick momentum since early this year.

The department has filed about 160 cases amounting to Rs 407.34 million at the Foreign Employment Tribunal — the fast track court set up to solve outsourcing frauds.

The semi-judicial body was established in February, 2010. Nepal Police has also become active regarding outsourcing fraud and have done their part to stop trafficking under the guise of foreign employment.

Published on: 14 July 2013 | The Himalayan Times