Following its order to scrap additional fees being imposed on Malaysia-bound Nepali workers, the government has launched a massive crackdown on those involved in charging workers hefty fees under various headings.

 

A joint team of the Metropolitan Police Crime Division (MPCD) and the Metropolitan Police Range Kathmandu (MPRK), led by Deputy Inspector Generals Dhiru Basnet, on Sunday raided several institutions from across Kathmandu and arrested their operators.

 

The team arrested 48 operators of various medical institutions that issue fitness reports for migrant workers, MPRK Spokesperson DSP Mohan Thapa said.

 

The team arrested Monika Shrestha of Kuleshwor Polyclinic; Ganesh Timilsina and Devendra Acharya from Swornim Medical Centre, Sundhara; Kishore Thapa of Super Health Care, Sukedhara; and another from Manjushree Medical Centre, Nagpokhari, among others.

 

Thirty-nine health institutions are found to be maintaining a monopoly in issuing medical clearance certificates to Malaysia-bound migrant workers. Breaking their syndicate, the government recently announced that all the health institutions, which have a Health Ministry permit and are registered with the Labour Ministry, can issue medical clearance reports.

 

Police also arrested Ram Prasad Shrestha, operator of two other institutions–One Stop Centre (OSC) and Malaysia VLN Nepal Pvt Ltd–on the charge of overcharging Nepalis for visa processing.

 

Govinda Thapaliya, the operator of GSG Services Nepal, was also arrested for charging hefty amounts from migrant workers in the name of Immigration Security Clearance (ISC), according to MPCD chief SSP Dhiraj Pratap Singh.

 

In a move to counter the Malaysian government’s unilateral policy adding financial burden to Nepali migrant workers, Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security Gokarna Bista on Thursday had decided to scrap all the fees.

 

The Nepali workers had been paying for MiGRAMS, Bio-metric medical test, services of One Stop Centre (OSC) operated by Malaysia VLN Nepal Pvt Ltd, ISC, and visa fees, totalling to Rs18,480. Aspirant migrant worker for Malaysia had to pay Rs3,300 for online registration (MiGRAMS); Rs4,500 for bio-metric identification; Rs3,164 to OSC; Rs3,616 for VLN; Rs3,200 for ISC; except the valid visa fee of Rs700 to the Malaysian Embassy.