Outsourcing agencies have criticised the reform plan that aims to promote safe migration for foreign job aspirants.The Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies, and Federation of Democratic Foreign Employment Agencies have asked the government to revoke the reform plan.

They have asked government to revoke the provision whereby workers have to show their documents at labour desk and immigration counter at Tribhuwan International Airport. Department of Foreign Employment, last week, made it mandatory for workers to show 11 documents at the offices before they can depart.

Department introduced the provision to reduce chances of workers being cheated, said director general of department Purnachandra Bhattarai. “The provision has been introduced according to law,” he said, “It is just an enforcement of the Foreign Employment Act 2007.” The law has a mandatory provision for outsourcing agencies to issue receipt of service fee, foreign job permit, visa stamped passport, and contract letter to foreign job aspirants before they depart. However, outsourcing agencies had not issued such documents in the past.

The department has made orientation, receipt paid to Foreign Employment Welfare Fund, and medical report of migrant workers mandatory as a large number of such reports were found to be fake in the past. It has also asked for a police report for Kuwait bound migrant workers to be included.

“We have made it mandatory for foreign job aspirants to furnish the 11 concerned documents toreduce fraudulent activities that are prevalent at the moment in the outsourcing sector,” said Bhattarai, adding that similar provisions will be applied to workers joining foreign jobs through individual contacts.

Individual workers, however, have to show six documents, including attested job offer paper, relationship between mediator and migrant worker, and valid visa and passport at the labour desk and immigration counter.

Outsourcing agencies have termed the action as harassment. “Government is harassing us by increasing paper work when the global trend is less paper work,” said president of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies Bal Bahadur Tamang.

“It is an additional burden on outsourcing agencies and also on migrant workers, so it should be revoked at the earliest.”

Published on: 22 September 2012 | The Himalayan Times