Migrant workers' contribution to the national economy needs no exaggeration. Hundreds of thousands of migrant workers send billions of rupees back home to support their families, and remittances are the main source of foreign currency earnings, helping to purchase essential goods and services from outside the country. A latest report released by Nepal Rastra Bank states that the foreign exchange reserve is enough to purchase goods and services for up to 11 months, mainly because of the contributions made by the migrant workers. However, the government agencies, particularly the Department of Immigration (DoI), tend to put a spoke in the migrants' wheel instead of facilitating the migrant workers whose numbers have risen steadily after the COV- ID-19 pandemic. Rather than helping the migrant workers, the DoI has put one condition after another, forcing them to return from the airport despite having a valid passport, visa, air ticket, job placement as well as labour approval from the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE). In the latest spat between the DoI and DoFE, as many as 156 migrant workers, who were flying to Kuwait and Jordan between July 11 and July 13, were turned away by the DoI from Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), incurring a whopping loss of Rs 12 million to the concerned manpower agencies and the migrant workers.

The DoFE, which is responsible for issuing workpermits to the migrant workers, has said the DoI violated the fundamental rights of the workers and encroached upon its jurisdiction.

The DoI can only verify whether or not the migrant workers have possessed a valid passport and visa, and it is notport and visa, and it is not its business to verify employment-related papers.

The way 156 migrant workers were turned away from the TIA indicates a lack of coordination between the two agencies – DoFE and DoI, which function under the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the Ministry of Home Affairs, respectively.

Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission, in its statement, has urged the government to provide compensation to the affected migrant workers and manpower agencies, which arranged employment opportunity for the workers in Kuwait and Jordan. It has also asked the government to take action against the DoI officials who prevented the migrant workers from flying there despite the fact that they had valid visas and work permits. A joint meeting was held between the officials of the DoFE and DoI shortly after the migrant workers were turned away from the TIA. However, the DoI officials could not present any valid ground for preventing the workers from flying. The NHRC has urged both the departments to be serious about workers' rights. Those who were flying to Kuwait and Jordan are now staying in hotels at their own expenses while others have returned home. Even the hiring companies, which had paid for their air tickets, have expressed their ire with the DoI and manpower agencies. This is not the first time that the DoI has acted irresponsibly. The Home Ministry must not hesitate to take disciplinary action against the DoI officials, who prevented the workers from flying without any valid reason. There must be better coordination between the two government agencies when it comes to facilitating the migrant workers.

Workers at risk

The government may have banned Nepalis from working as domestic help in the Gulf countries with good intention, but the informal channels that they adopt to go abroad makes them vulnerable to being trafficked. As per Apravashi Mahila Kamdar Samuha (AMKAS), an organisation advocating for the rights of immigrants, around 80 per cent of women going abroad were found using informal channels through neighbouring countries – India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. In the absence of employment opportunities back home, both men and women are desperate to migrate for work. But some countries are not safe for women as is evidenced by the large number of women who need to be rescued. In the last six months alone, 73 women have been rescued from the Gulf countries by AMKAS alone, and many of them were suffering from mental issues.

While it is discriminatory to allow men to migrate and to stop women, increasing cases of human trafficking and abuse of women require that the host country guarantee their safety. As suggested by the parliamentary committee, the government should work with the host countries to have a legal system to punish employers or family members who abuse domestic workers.

Published on: 24 July 2023 | The Himalayan Times