Foreign employment agencies have threatened to halt services from Saturday to protest the police raids in 17 recruiting agencies on Wednesday. Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA), the umbrella organization of the foreign employment agencies working in Nepal, claimed that the move was being taken to protest against police intervention. The move is expected to directly affect hundreds of aspirant migrant workers.

 

NAFEA claimed that police raid were against the foreign employment policy and that the police had conducted them by going beyond its jurisdiction. "Police don't have any rights to raid recruiting agencies if we are to follow the Foreign Employment Act 2064 that governs all organizations working in the sector of foreign employment," said Rohan Gurung, general secretary of NAFEA. He claimed that any kind of action against foreign employment agencies should be taken via the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) and informed that "We will stop foreign employment services from Saturday."

 

Gurung said that agencies will clear all outstanding tasks including processing work permits, visa and ticketing for migrants scheduled to fly abroad within next week and then ground all their services. "We will send workers until March 5 but will stop all services after that," he informed.

 

A team from the Crime Division of Nepal Police had raided The River Overseas, Capital Recruitment Service, Shan International, AV International, Innovative Human Resource, Gorkha Nepal, Nepali Recruiting, Bheri Karnali International, DD Overseas, Life Line Overseas, Shikhar International, SRS Overseas, AB Employment, Melko International, Mobira Overseas, Sanna Internatinal and All Secure on Wednesday.

 

The team had arrested owners of 11 recruiting agencies. While keeping seven of them under its custody, it has handed over the cases of four agencies to the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE).

 

Defending the raids, SSP Sarmendra Khanal said that the department has not breached any laws or regulation in raiding the agencies. He claimed that the agencies were raided on the basis of complaints filed against them by various individuals who have accused these agencies of duping.

 

"We raided those agencies after we received complains that they were cheating aspirant migrant workers in the name of foreign employment," said Khanal adding that the police investigates when it receives complain, irrespective of the sector.

 

Foreign employment experts claim that the raids points out to the ineffective foreign employment policy that is governing the foreign employment sector and the inability of the DoFE to provide justice to those who have been victimized in course of foreign employment.

 

Published on: 26 February 2016 | Republica