Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security Gokarna Bista has said that situation putting the life of thousands of youths in jeopardy would not be allowed to continue anymore.

 

Addressing an interaction programme on ‘Foreign Employment: the Way Forward’ organised by the Foreign Employment Promotion Board Secretariat marking the International Migrants Day 2018 on Tuesday, Bista said, “ There are still anomalies, aberrations and shoddiness in the foreign employment sector. These kinds of anomalies will not remain for many days now.”

 

He vowed to end the situation where the migrant workers feel they are disregarded.

 

Stating that the dignified and decent living of the migrant workers has now become an international agenda, Labour Minister Bista stressed the need of collaborating among all nations for the protection of the rights and interests of the migrant workers.

 

He said the Colombo Process, a regional forum prioritising the rights of the migrant workers in the international, regional and national forums, and the Global Compact on Migration (GCM) have also focused their roles with the aim of providing justice for the workers.

 

National Planning Commission (NPC) member Ram Kumar Phuyal said that preparations were being made to launch the programme under the 25-year draft policy of the 15th Five-Year Periodic Plan for making the foreign employment returned youths self-employed.

 

As the labour migration has become a global trend today, Labour Secretary Mahesh Prasad Dahal said, there is no alternative to bringing the labour migration into a proper system.

 

“The government has been taking steps to framing laws and policy reforms for the purpose by addressing problems in the sector,” he said, adding that preparations are under way to convert the MoUs reached with countries of labour destination into bilateral labour agreement.

 

Calling for a concerted effort from all stakeholders to regulate the foreign employment, Nepal Foreign Employment Entrepreneurs’ Association Acting President Ram Prasad Bhantana said they were ready to collaborate with the government to make foreign employment safe and well-managed.

 

“Foreign Employment Entrepreneurs are ready to change for good. Let’s take a common commitment and let’s make agenda. Let’s initiate self-employment for the foreign returnees,” Bhantana said, expressing belief that the lure of foreign employment would lose appeal once the self-employment campaign gains momentum in the country.

 

Board’s Executive Director Rajan Prasad Shrestha said the board was working on creating an environment conducive for the foreign returnees through the social and economic reunion programme.