Stakeholders in the foreign employment sector are gearing up to introduce an ‘online system’ to stay connected with each other and address the communication gap that has resulted in anomalies.

The system is expected to connect stakeholders, including the Department of Foreign Employment, the Department of Immigration, Nepali embassies abroad, the Consular Section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and foreign employment agencies, among others.

This new system will give online access to one another’s database. The lapse in communication has been the major reason behind delayed service and other serious anomalies such as fraud and human trafficking.

Most of the offices concerned maintain handwritten files and old data keeping system. The online database will include personal details about workers — pre-approval, final approval, companies, manpower companies, details of the dead, imprisoned, status of outgoing and returnee, among others.

The foreign employment department has already given the ‘access code’ of its online database to three Nepali missions in India, Kuwait and Malaysia. It plans to connect itself with the immigration department, other missions, manpower companies, orientation centres and other stakeholders soon. The department has been taking support from experts in updating details online.

Director General at the foreign employment department Purna Chandra Bhattarai said they have so far been able to achieve the envisioned initial goals. The access code has helped recipient embassies identify widespread anomalies and take instant action against culprits.

“After providing the access code, we have found how fraudsters take advantage of the lapse in communication,” said Bhattarai. While tallying information through the access code, the missions have found many workers using double contract letter.

Nepali missions abroad have also started updating the status of returnee, imprisoned, dead and workers seeking deportation on their websites, beside other information, categorically. Nepali ambassador to Saudi Arabia Uday Raj Pandey said ‘it’s only beginning’. The embassy aims to make accessible the information online to public and stakeholders.

The foreign employment department is giving the access code to the embassy ‘very soon’. The Consular Section of the Foreign Ministry is gearing up to store workers’ record in computerised database. According to Dilip Poudel, chief of the section, the new system will make all the data available in a matter of a mouse click.

“The new system will fast track our work, keeping the entire record organised. Both the officials and service seekers are suffering due to muddled record keeping,” said Poudel. With an unprecedented rise in the number of migrant workers, the old, traditional data keeping was easily being manipulated by fraudsters.

Although no exact data are available, the government records show over 2.5 million Nepali workers are legally working in various countries. The foreign employment sector contributes over 20 percent to the national GDP. FOREIGN EMPLOYMENT ANOMALIES This new system is expected to give online access to one another’s database.

Published on: 22 September 2012 | The Kathmandu Post