Malaysian minister for Human Resources M Kulasegaran will visit Nepal to sign the agreement

The long-awaited labour agreement between Nepal and Malaysia is likely to be signed within three weeks, paving the way for resumption of Nepali workers’ departures to Malaysia which has been halted since the third week of May. Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security Gokarna Bista told the Post that the governments of two countries were eager to sign the labour pact at the earliest.

“The agreement will be formally signed at the ministerial level before Tihar festival. We are working on giving the final shape to the labour pact,” said Minister Bista. The Tihar festival is three weeks away.

Malaysian Minister for Human Resources M Kulasegaran will visit Nepal to sign the agreement—the first such pact between the two countries in 14 years since Nepali migrant workers started taking up jobs in Malaysia. “The Malaysian side has told us about the high-level visit, but the exact date has not been fixed yet,” a ministry official told the Post.

Nepal has imposed restriction on its workers from taking up jobs in Malaysia since May 17 after scrapping fees imposed by various agencies on Malaysia-bound workers.

The move has left thousands of Malaysia-bound Nepali workers, including hundreds with a calling visa, stuck because the government has stopped issuing labour permit for Malaysia.

Subsequently, the two countries have pushed for a formal labour pact to address issues concerning safety and rights of Nepali workers.

Having reviewed the draft of the labour agreement, Nepal had sent a team of officials from various ministries to Malaysia for reaching to common understanding on the document. The meeting between Nepali team and the Malaysian side at the Malaysian Ministry of Human Resources in Putrajaya on September 28 had agreed on all the points of the proposed agreement.

A highly-placed source at the Labour Ministry hinted at an early deal, saying that both governments had reached consensus over the draft pact. “We have been making preparations for a swift signing of the pact,” said the source, requesting anonymity as he was not allowed to speak about the matter to the media.

While officials of the two countries have reached an understanding on the pact, it requires to be endorsed by the respective governments, the source said. “The technical committee formed to resolve the matter have finalised the draft document, but it needs to be approved by the higher authorities.

Published on: 14 October 2018 | The Kathmandu Post