BINOD PRASAD GUPTA

In the Nepali context, it is mainly interlinked with the socio-economic and political transition as well as the scenario of Bhutanese and Tibetan refugees, internally displaced people (IDP) and massive labor movement for foreign employment. Among all, labor migration is important in the foreign employment sector of Nepal. The number of youth going abroad in search of better employment opportunities continued to increase this fiscal year with 45,937 Nepalese leaving the country in the first month of the fiscal year 2013-14.

The youth leaving the country in between mid-July and mid-August marked a rise of 40.66 per cent from 32,657 recorded in the first month of the last fiscal year. The number of youths leaving the country went up sharply this year to major foreign destinations like Qatar, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), which absorbed more Nepali workers (Source: Ministry of Labor and Employment, Department of Foreign Employment). But, more poor and disadvantaged groups (DAG) of youth, adults and females, who have little money, no access to foreign employment, no awareness and skill, are annually going for seasonal jobs to Indian cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Assam, Kalapahad particularly from the mid and far-western regions of Nepal. It is unfortunate that their numbers have not been recorded anywhere officially.

Most of the youth workers including females leaving the country hail from rural areas and are in search of better employment and wages abroad as migrant workers in foreign destinations to support their families. Some of them face a lot of problems abroad because of the loan burden, lack of job awareness and requisite skills, difficulty and also illegal labor visa processing, illegal demand of levy and commission, sexual harassment for female workers, unsafe and uncomfortable accommodation, fraud in salary payment and work in a job against an agreed contract, illegal case filing and being jailed, and with numerous social and legal hurdles.

Except for these facts, foreign labor employment creates some benefits in raising the dependent family’s income to meet the basic needs such as children’s schooling expenses, food, clothing, construction of building home and improved family amenities. Besides, increased remittance contributes significantly to the national revenue accelerating the economic growth of the country. And, on the other side, increased outbound migrant workers are creating a labor shortage in the agricultural as well as industrial sectors.

There are some negative aspects of the migration of workers to foreign countries like the transmission of HIV/AIDS to the spouse, the disintegrating relationship between the husband and the wife and among the families, leading to increased sexual harassment, increased workload on female members of the family. This has also led to an increase in divorce cases and ultimately affecting social structure and pattern.

The analysis of the gains and risks of foreign employment points to the fact that the labor migration should be managed for the short, mid and long run. In the short and immediate run, processing of foreign employment should be safer, easier and accessible to all (mainly for the poor Dalits, Janjatis, Madhesis, and females). Under the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE), District Facilitation and Monitoring Office should be extended to the district headquarters and the Local Information and Facilitation Office to the village development committee (VDC) level for safe and legal migration for the foreign jobs.

Also, labor employment banking, insurance and capacity building, as well as Income Generating (IG) initiative, should be continuously implemented. The Labor Employment Bank should be established with the incoming remittance and the shareholders being the migrant workers and their families.

Reform in the policy for safe and legal migration should be made. The policy should be formulated so that the migrant workers can have ten days every six months for a family reunions. There is a necessity to hire International Labor Monitor (ILM) for major employment destination countries, and National Labor Monitor (NLM) for the Central level, District Labor Monitor (DML) for the district and Local Labor Monitor (LLM) for VDC level to oversee and update the real status of labor and facilitate the safety of their labor.

To create and promote self-employment from returned employees in their homeland through the use of earned skills and income, the government should provide an appropriate environment with flexible facilities and services, thereby returnees themselves motivate the creation of jobs and business through the utilization of available resources in their communities and in the country.

In the long run, with the support of the labor employment bank, shareholder and private sector, government, non-government, donor and others, farming and non-farming business companies and factories should be geographically as well as appropriately planned and established, as where thousands of Nepalis can work and create jobs which ultimately reduce the foreign attraction of the youth.

Published on: 23 September 2013 | The Himalayan Times