KATHMANDU, June 13: After a group of people aspiring to go for foreign employment gets visas, the manpower company gathers them and makes a video. They ask the victims, "Have we taken a single rupee from you?" In response, the victims are forced to say, "No, sir." Recording on the mobile phone, the representatives of the manpower company then ask again, "You are going abroad on a free visa and free tickets, aren't you?" The victims are again compelled to reply, "Yes, sir."

In this manner, manpower companies have been indirectly amassing millions of rupees from aspiring Nepali youths seeking foreign employment.

The registered manpower companies in Nepal are required to follow the rules and regulations set by the government when sending workers overseas. However, many manpower companies often employ 10/15 agents and collect fees arbitrarily and offer information about overseas countries to aspiring youths seeking overseas employment.

The manpower companies usually tell them that there is currently no demand from any country.

“There will be demand from good countries within two to four days. We have connections in our network, take their contact information and communicate with them directly.”

The youths who approach manpower companies for overseas employment are often sent back under various excuses by the companies. The manpower companies inform them about the demand for workers from the different countries only after they involve the agents who charge hefty amounts of money.

The employees of manpower companies inform the youths about the processes of going abroad and the services and facilities available in the destination countries. However, these companies often do not provide information regarding payment procedures and name of the bank for transactions. When the youths aspiring to work overseas ask the companies, “How much money will it cost?”, the manpower companies respond, “We have provided all the information regarding the country, but we are unaware of the required payment. We have given the responsibility for it to the agent. Go and talk with the agent.”

In this way, manpower companies have been collecting money from youths aspiring to work overseas. Tapendra Bahadur Budha of Kailali, said that the manpower companies extorted money from him through the agents.

Budha said that he paid Rs 250,000 to Ramesh Basnet, an agent of Sapatakoshi Human Resource, Kathmandu, to seek foreign employment in Malaysia. A total of Rs 200,000 was given to the agent as per the instructions of the manpower company, he added.

He said, “I was out of the valley for work. As it was not possible to meet with agent Ramesh, I sent the remaining payment to him via IME. I and others requested to send the payment in the bank account of one of the employees of the manpower company. But the manpower company denied saying our bank account is not working currently, and directed us to send the money to the agent.”

When Budha asked Ramesh for his bank account details, he received a reply, “I have not opened any bank account. You can hand over the money to me directly. Don’t you trust me?”

Buda said that the agents employed by the manpower companies trap the youths aspiring to go abroad.

Recalling the day when the manpower company created a video claiming that they have not taken any money, Budha quotes the manpower company’s representative as saying, “Your visa has already arrived. You are going to earn money and the job is good. We also need assurance from you in case you deceive us? This is why we have to make a video for our safety. We will hand over the visa to you after making the video.” He revealed that the manpower companies make such videos.

The youths only realize that they have been cheated by the manpower company and agents either before they reach the destination or after reaching there. Budha, who had planned to go abroad to support his family, was also trapped by the manpower companies lured by the dream of Malaysia. He said that he had to endure a difficult life as soon as he secured a job at Qualpro Research company (Malaysia).

The victim Budha said, "I stayed in Malaysia for nearly two years. After reaching there, I did not get any job for eight months. I spent many nights on the streets. Later, when it was time to renew my visa, the company neglected to do so. While I received my salary for the months I worked, I was not paid for the overtime I had done."

Budha said, “The company did not provide any work, confiscated our passports and did not provide us any salary. Due to this, I along with five others, returned to Nepal around 17 months later after being evicted from our accommodation.”

While in Malaysia, Budha, the victim, said he sought help from the agent and Saptakoshi Manpower, but they ignored him. Upon returning to Nepal and visiting the manpower company, he received a harsh response, "We don't have an agent. We don't know whom you made the payment. You went through us, but we didn't take any money. Don't make a fuss here; go wherever you want to go."

When he reached the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) seeking justice, he received a cold response from them. He was told to go from one room to another to file his complaint.

Budha went to the DoFE seeking justice with evidence in hand: proof that the manpower company had sent him abroad, evidence that he paid the agent through IME, proof that the company in Malaysia confiscated his passport, did not pay him for overtime work, and that he returned to Nepal with his own money using travel documents. However, he said he still couldn't get justice.

"Where is justice in our country? We have been cheated even in our own country. The employees of the DoFE don't have the capacity or patience to listen to us. They also ignore the victims," Budha said.

Dissatisfied with the behavior of the DoFE and its employees, who are supposed to ensure justice to those cheated in foreign employment, Budha said, "I was called to the Department along with the manpower agents. There, in the presence of the DoFE's employees, the agents misbehaved with me. They accused me, saying, 'You yourself made the video claiming you didn't pay the money, so how is Saptakoshi involved in the fraud? How are you a victim? Who did you give the money to? We are not aware of whom you have given money to.’”

He said that Ajit Kesari, the Officer of the DoFE also took the side of the manpower agents. Budha said, “Officer Kesari should have spoken in our favor, but he did not. Even when the manpower agent threatened us, he supported the agent.”

Kesari allegedly told Budha that even though he had all the documents, he couldn’t file a complaint with the department because the purpose of foreign employment was not clearly mentioned. The DoFE officer instead directed him to file a police complaint.

After that, Budha went to the police station to file a complaint. However, Budha said that he was also turned away by the police who said “this is a matter for DoFE to handle, not ours”.

Most of the victims seeking justice at DoFE have been defrauded by manpower companies. However, the complaints are filed only against the agents.

The DoFE itself is facilitating open fraud by manpower companies. In the current year 2023/24, a total of 5,815 complaints of foreign employment fraud have been registered in the DoFE as of mid-April. Out of that, only 752 have been filed against manpower companies.

This indicates that more complaints have been filed against the agents than manpower companies. The officer of DoFE said that it is difficult to pursue legal action against the manpower companies because the victims have given money directly to the agents.

Kesari said that during the Budha’s complaint, he and the employee of the DoFE had a discussion. He said, “Manpower does not appear to have taken the money. As the purpose of going abroad has not been disclosed clearly in the documents, it became difficult to file complaints against the company. We are initiating to claim money for the overtime work Budha did in Malaysia.”

Youths are being widely deceived into going overseas due to the lack of employment opportunities in Nepal. Despite promises of free visas and tickets, manpower companies still exploit the youth by extracting money through agents to send them abroad.

The manpower companies registered with the government are engaging in fraudulent activities under the guise of foreign employment by employing agents. Victims find themselves trapped in the vicious cycle.

Published on: 13 June 2024 | My Republica