KATHMANDU: An estimate of 50,000 youth in their productive age group are immigrating to foreign countries from Nepal every month after obtaining ‘labor permit’ from the Department of Foreign Employment.

For over the decades, the government of Nepal has been struggling to put all the scattered parts of foreign employment in place but has not succeeded yet despite having a full-fledged law on the subject-matter. Syndicates operating in this field often in the guise of manpower agencies are drawing maximum benefits from the dilly-dallying approach of the government on the subject-matter of foreign employment.

A number of institutions working for certifying the health fitness and other related tests of the candidates about to go for foreign employment are overcharging them to financially drain their already tight wallet. It is the economic exploitation of aspiring Nepalese youth dreaming to make big in foreign countries particularly those who are heading to Gulf countries by dishonest syndicates operating in this field.

Though the government time and again has attempted to tighten the noose on syndicates and their unethical way of functioning, it has not yielded effective results on the ground. It is just the opposite; more numbers of syndicates are now chasing the aspirants of foreign employment in Nepal one after the other. Last time when the Foreign Minister gave permission to open up the Qatari Visa Center in Nepal, more syndicates got the opportunity to operate aiming to trap the Nepali workforce heading for foreign employment in their net.

Mahesh Dahal, Secretary at the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security says, “The government has on its part gone ahead with labor and employment contracts with receiving countries and facilitating the export of labor from Nepal to other countries at zero cost.” According to him, the government is keen on ending the intervention and influence of dishonest syndicates operating in this field and has been pushing forward a legal contract to this effect to be signed together with labor destination countries.

The Ministry, meanwhile, is determined to discontinue earlier administrative structure which perpetrated economic exploitation and injustice to Nepalese workforce heading abroad for foreign employment. All the syndicates operating at this moment will soon out of business, Secretary Dahal assured adding further, “Syndicates were allowed to function as Nepalese workforce wanted assistance to reach foreign countries for work and employment but these syndicates turned out to be exploiters themselves. Therefore, the government has decided to negotiate directly with foreign companies who are employers, in this case, to rule out any possibility of involvement of syndicates in between. Employers (foreign companies) are now going to bear all the expenses of employees (Nepalese workforce going abroad). This is how syndicates will meet their natural death.”

A total of 300,000 Nepalese youth both men and women are going abroad for foreign employment in a year armed with labor permits issued by the department, says the data released by Department of Foreign Employment, Nepal. Each of them has been paying Rs 20,000 for their health examinations and other such mandatory check-ups before flying abroad.

The government has been even accused of protecting these syndicates in return of monetary considerations to party fund or favor in some other ‘kind’. Ganesh Gurung, an expert in the labor force and employment, accuses the government to provide political protection to syndicates thereby making them ‘ruthless’ in their exploitation of Nepalese men and women with apparent impunity.

The government has annulled the license of syndicates operating to send Nepalese workforce to Malaysia but refused to take any legal actions against the person who was heading that syndicate. It was just hogwash to assuage the feelings of aggrieved Nepalese workers who were exploited by this syndicate. The government’s double standard on taking actions against syndicates is all the more clear when the other day, it approved a launch of the syndicate to operate for Nepalese workforce heading to Qatar for foreign employment imposing a more financial burden on them, explains Ganesh Gurung. He declares further, “Syndicates are not alone, the government of Nepal is also complicit in the exploitation of Nepalese workforce.”

Even after doing away with syndicates operating for sending Nepalese workforce to Malaysia, the fresh batches of Nepalese workforce have not yet been sent to Malaysia last year. The Government of Nepal signed MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) on labor and employment with Malaysian government last Kartik but Nepalese workforce has been held hostage in their own country all due to the unhappiness of syndicates who have wrenched the Government of Nepal from the deal with Malaysia. The power and influence of these syndicates operating in the area of foreign employment are so big that the government of Nepal has gone back on their commitments expressed between the two governments. And in this hidden understanding between the government and syndicates, Nepalese workforce are hoodwinked as they stay home without work for years. Who cares?

Separate syndicate for a separate country 

Separate syndicate operates for the separate country in the area of foreign employment. Gulf Approval Medical Centers Association (GAMCA) has been extracting money in name of mandatory health examination from Nepalese workforce heading for Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, and other Gulf countries for foreign employment.

Twelve medical centers are operating under Center and the government has fixed the fees of medical examination: Rs 2, 900 for male and Rs 3,100 for female. But, the Center has been charging double the amount the government has fixed. It is surprising to note here that the ‘Center’ has been officially closed, yet fees are being collected by their medical centers unabated.

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) started online application two years before for Nepalese workforce wanting to work in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain. GCC charged the US $ 10 extra for filling the form online. It was unnecessary money extracted from Nepalese workforce placed in a critical situation. Similarly, the government of Nepal allowed syndicates like Mygrams, Biometrics, ISC, VLN, and OSC to financially exploit the Malaysia-bound Nepalese workforce. These syndicates have been forcing Nepalese workforce to cough up extra money on one or the other pretext from the Nepalese youth going to Malaysia for work.

The Malaysian Embassy in Nepal has been charging Rs 700 for issuing a visa to Nepalese workers. Apart from this, Nepalese workers were paying Rupees 1800 extra to a different set of organizations for reaching Malaysia. Last year in the month of Jestha, Gokarna Bista, the Minister of Labor, Employment and Social Security, had canceled the license of all those organizations accused of charging extra money from Nepalese workers heading to Malaysia.

These organizations are not operating now. Just recently, a syndicate has popped up operating for giving the visa service for working in Qatar. There was a deal not to charge any money while providing a visa to Nepalese workers going to Qatar for employment. Even the website of this center endorses the provision making it clear that Nepalese workers have not to pay US$ 137 for having a biometric visa issued to them.

However, the Qatari Visa Centre has been charging Rs 3,865 from manpower companies and other employment generating companies. Now, Nepalese workers going to Qatar for employment need to pay Rs 18,000 to the Qatari Visa Center functioning in Kathmandu. Thus, the government has not turned its back on syndicates operating in the field of foreign employment. United Arab Emirate (UAE) has also opened up the UAE Services Center in Nepal for facilitating the visa services for Nepalese workers. Last year, the government of UAE took the services of syndicates for obtaining the police report but turned down the services after all around criticism on the matter.