Department of Foreign Employment is planning to launch Short Message Service (SMS) campaign to reduce outsourcing frauds. “The department has been developing software for the campaign,” said spokesperson and director at the department Diwas Acharya.

Under the SMS campaign, the department will send job details, mediation cost, salary and other benefits to foreign job aspirants. “The SMS will be delivered to the mobile of the foreign job aspirants,” he said, adding that the department will consult stakeholders — outsourcing agencies and migrant rights organisation — before starting the campaign. The department mulled the concept as outsourcing frauds has been increasing in recent years.

The department has registered about 1,654 outsourcing fraud cases worth Rs 898.66 million in the last nine months of the current fiscal year. About 2,172 fraud cases were reported in last fiscal year.

“The SMS campaign will inform migrant workers about their job, salary and other terms and conditions, so it will reduce pre-departure fraud,” he hoped.

Currently, outsourcing agencies have been giving labour contract to workers at the airport only.

Above 70 per cent labour contracts handed over to the migrant workers have been found fake during monitoring.

Among 1,654 fraud cases reported to the department, half of them was about the delay in sending workers abroad followed by misinformation about the nature of job and remaining about salary and other benefits.

Outsourcing fraud has been above Rs 1 billion since 2010.

Foreign jobs aspirants have been committing suicide following loss of money and unfavourable job conditions. More than 1,000 suicide have been reported every year and according to different studies, at least three per cent migrant workers have been facing extreme difficulties. The SMS campaign will inform migrant workers about their job details prior to departure, so that they can refuse contracts. “It will help migrant workers take correct decision against outsourcing agencies,” he said, adding that it will significantly reduce frauds.

Published on: 14 May 2013 | The Himalayan Times