Nepali migrant workers holding ‘illegal’ status in different labour destinations are likely to get support for repatriation from next fiscal year. The government is working to set up a separate fund to implement this plan.

Initially, the fund will have resource of Rs 100 million, of which Rs 50 million will be provided by Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) and the government will put in the remaining Rs 50 million as ‘matching fund’. 

After the fund is established, a high-level rapid response team would be formed and the resources from the fund would be utilised for mobilisation of the team to rescue undocumented and illegal Nepali workers.

Generally, the workers who reach labour destinations without proper documentation are considered illegal migrant workers. Likewise, those leaving the country through informal channels, overstaying the contract period, changing jobs within the labour market and working in government banned countries are also termed as illegal workers.

“Along with rise in number of Nepali migrant workers, pressure is mounting to facilitate undocumented workers in destination countries, including Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Qatar,” said Tika Bhandari, director of the Foreign Employment Promotion Board (FEPB).

He said the new provision will help provide support to bring the body of illegal migrant workers who might have died abroad, rescue those stranded, and undergoing medical treatments in hospitals but are unable to pay their medical bills.

In cases of those leaving for foreign employment via formal channels and completing the government set procedures, workers get support like rescue from FEPB if they get stranded. Also, such workers’ family get compensation of Rs 300,000 in case of death of the worker in destination country. 

FEPB said that due to lack of resources, undocumented workers are not being able to return home and there were also cases of workers suffering from serious medical conditions in various countries.

After a board meeting decision of the FEPB, a working procedure for the high-level rapid response team was recently sent to the Ministry of Finance for approval, while the matching fund was also sought. The team will include officials from Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE), Nepali embassies aboard and representative of NRNA, among others. FEPB officials said that NRNA has also vowed to provide additional resources in the fund in the future, if required. 

After rise in cases of workers being stranded in destination countries, Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) in November last year had also directed MoFA and MoLE to rescue Nepali migrant workers, who had been stranded due to various reasons in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Malaysia. Even as there is no official data, many Nepali migrants are reported to be serving jail terms in labour destinations and many are languishing for lack of money to return home.

Published on: 24 March 2015 | The Himalayan Times