Jitendra Kumar Jha, a resident of Rautahat, had paid Rs 2 lakh to an agent named Kasim Akhtar hoping to land a waiter's job at a hotel in Qatar. He was promised a contract of two years with a monthly salary of 1,800 Qatari riyal (over Rs 64,000) per month for eight hours of daily work.

But upon reaching Qatar in February, Jha was forced to clean drains and wash dishes among other chores for over 15 hours a day and received just 1,000 riyals per month at New Taxi Restaurant before being sent back in just twoand-a-half months.

"We were told that the owner of the restaurant had to pay for our quarantine and lodging after we arrived in Qatar and did not give us our wages forthe first month. The next month, I received just about 1,000 Qatari riyals. After complaining about the low wage and contract breach, I along with five other Nepali workers employed in other companies were sent back to Kathmandu,"Jha told The Himalayan Times.

Jha and his friends were not the only ones being sent home by their companies from Qatar.

According to him, the airport was mostly filled with migrant workers on their way home. The majority of them were either being sent home abruptly by their companies before their contract ended or without full pay, he said.

As per reports, many migrant workers, including those from Nepal and India, have been forced to return to their home countries before the start of the World Cup, follow-ing the release of a circular by the government of Qatar last year.

Migrant-rights.org uncovered similar cases among workers recently sent back to Nepal by a number of Qatar's biggest construction companies.

Some workers said they had not received their full salaries, overtime pay, or end-ofservice benefits. Others saidthey were sent home before their contracts ended.

An article in The Guardian states that many migrant workers, who had expected to be in Qatar for two years, were sent home far sooner. Others were being sent home but had been told that they might be recalled after the World Cup.

Jha blames lack of actionfrom Nepali authorities and absence of policies ensuring migrant workers' rights for increasing exploitation of citizens going for foreign employment.

"Many people have been swindled by false promises of agents, manpower companies, and government bodies. However, the demand for action has only fallen on deaf ears," he said.Despite the reports, Nepali authorities seem unaware of any Nepali being forced to leave their work destination.

In a conversation with The Himalayan Times earlier, authorities of the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security and the Department of Foreign Employment reiterated that they were unaware ofigrant workers being sent ome before the end of their ontracts. However, authoriies did not respond to repeatd requests for comment for his article.

Also, the Embassy of the tate of Qatar in Kathmandu aid they had not received any omplaint regarding the conerned circular. According to he embassy, it is working diliently with the authorities in epal and Qatar to safeguard he rights of workers, starting rom visa centres that Qatar stablished in Nepal to ensure orkers are not exploited.

As per the data provided by he Department of Foreign mployment, a total of 54,656 igrant workers returned rom Qatar in the first three onths of the current fiscal ear, the highest number of reurnees over the review period ompared to other countries.

Despite reports showing a different reason for the return, the opening of better opportunities in Malaysia could be attributed to the return of Nepali migrant workers from Qatar, officials said.

Som Prasad Lamichhane, executive director of Pravasi Nepali Coordination Committee - one of the leading organisations in Nepal promoting rights and welfare of migrant workers - the highest number of complaints the organisation has received from migrant workers were related to contracts. "As per our data, about 13,484 complaints against contract issues have been registered at PNCC between January 2014 and October 2022. We are working in coordination with Nepali embassies abroad to assist migrant workers with their problems," he said.

Published on: 16 December 2022 | The Himalayan Times