The statements given to this daily by the three Nepali women who returned home from China along with their fellows the other day clearly prove that the Nepali manpower agency had duped them by promising high monthly salaries. Forty-four Nepali women, who were duped and despatched to China’s Dandong Rishang garment factory bordering North Korea, were sent by Compass Recruitment, a foreign recruitment agency based at Gaushala, in May. They returned to Kathmandu on three different flights operated by Chinese airlines. The three women who talked to this daily said the agency had promised them a salary of $400 per month, and the demand letter attested by the Nepali Embassy in Beijing also mentioned the same amount. However, the employer gave them only $50 for the first month. After the women protested, the employer gave them an additional $100. The employer had promised to provide $250 only after three months of training. Another woman from Ramechhap said she was promised a monthly salary of $500. Upon learning that the Nepali women had been duped by the recruitment agency in Nepal, the Chinese employers had summoned the agency. But they vanished from the scene.

The victims said the Chinese employers were shocked to learn that the Nepali agency had collected Rs 70,000 from each of them. It has been revealed that the Chinese garment company had paid for the ticket, visa fee and training to the agency. The women later came to learn that the company was looking for only skilled labourers in sewing and had also paid a certain amount to the Nepali agency to train prospective candidates before sending them to China. However, the agency lied to the women that they were being sent for “packaging”. They were given sewing-training certificates without imparting any training in sewing. This was how the women were duped by the Nepali agency.

In this case, the manpower agency seems to be on the wrong side of the law. It should reimburse the women’s investment and provide compensation. The government should also take legal action against the agency that swindled the women, who had to suffer in the foreign land for months without basic amenities. This is not an isolated case, either. Many Nepal-based manpower agencies dupe migrant workers, promising handsome salaries in foreign countries, where they are forced to take up different jobs, not mentioned in the contract papers. On the other hand, the aspirant workers themselves and their families must be aware of the nature of the work, credibility of the manpower agency and labour laws of the country where they are supposed to work. Since remittance has been helping keep our economy afloat, the government must be serious about making the foreign jobs more secure and dignified. Meanwhile, the government should not delay in issuing work permits to Malaysia, where thousands of Nepalis are employed. The government should take the manpower agencies’ threat of an agitation seriously as it will badly affect our economy and jobs. The government stopped issuing work permits to Malaysia in May last year after it cracked down on Immigration Clearance and One Stop Centre for levying additional charges on Nepali migrants. Despite all odds, people’s right to work must be ensured.

Published on: 30 July 2019 | The Himalayan Times