We are developing a welfare plan to help outsourcers and victim migrant workers, said president of the association Bal Bahadur Tamang.

 

According to the plan, every outsourcing agency will deposit Rs 500 against each worker that it sends for a foreign job. “The fund will be used to compensate fraud victims and migrant workers who return earlier than the prescribed time due to problems in contracts, salary and benefits,” he said. 

 

Though outsourcers remained silent about the Department of Foreign Employment’s move to punish them, the fund was designed to meet expenses claimed for fraud cases. The department has forced outsourcers to return around Rs 240 million in the last five months. For those who could not pay the claims made by victims, claims were settled from the cash deposited at the department. 

 

Fraud in the outsourcing sector has been rising in recent years. More than 2,100 outsourcing fraud cases worth about Rs 1.21 billion were reported at the department last year. The number of outsourcing fraud cases reached 943 in the first five months of the current fiscal year. They were worth Rs 447.96 million. 

 

According to the Foreign Employment Act, outsourcers have to deposit Rs 700,000 in cash and provide a bank guarantee worth Rs 2.3 million to get a licence. About 1,032 outsourcing agencies are registered in the country and nearly 750 are in operation. 

 

The association aims to collect millions of rupees from the plan as over 400,000 Nepalis have been joining foreign jobs every year since 2010-11. 

 

The plan will help collect around Rs 200 million in a year. That will provide great help to outsourcing agencies, Tamang added. The association will also start corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities from the fund to enhance its image among people. 

 

“We are also planning to start welfare programmes for victims or affected people through our CSR,” Tamang said. “It will take some time to design the programmes.” 

 

According to the plan, outsourcers will not charge migrant workers for the welfare fund and will contribute from their income, he added.