Malaysia and Gulf nations hiring more Nepalis

KATHMANDU:

The first quarter (mid-July to mid-October) of the current fiscal year witnessed 33 per cent rise in number of workers leaving the country for employment purpose, as the demand for Nepali workers from Gulf nations and Malaysia increased significantly.

The Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) said that a total of 129,410 individuals, including 6,406 women, received permission for foreign employment in the review period. It said that there is heavy growth in hiring from major labour destinations for Nepali workers — Malaysia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year 2013-14.

With the domination of same major destination countries, 97,180 Nepalis had left the country for employment in the first quarter of last fiscal.

DoFE officials said that despite the festival season, the departure of workers went up owing to rise in demand. The last month of the first quarter normally witnesses low flow of outbound workers because of the major festivals.

In terms of volume of workers, Malaysia absorbed 57,796 workers, up from 23,127 recorded in the same period last fiscal. Hiring from Qatar went up by 96 per cent to 27,934 individuals and workers’ departure to Saudi Arab rose significantly by 209 per cent to 21,862 workers, while UAE also hired 13,716 Nepali workers, up from 6,400 individuals same period last year.

Foreign employment agencies said that Nepali aspirants are more attracted toward Malaysia for assurance of minimum salary of 900 ringgit (Rs 27,000), overtime facility, better environment compared to Gulf destinations, and also increased demand from there.

“People prefer Malaysia than Dubai as there is fixed minimum salary, besides other facilities,” said Kumud Khanal, vice president of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies. He added that even as the Nepali embassies in Gulf nations fix the minimum salary, many times Nepali workers are found to be working for much less.

A huge number of workers are expected to leave for foreign employment from this month as many people had remained in the country for the major festivals — Dashain, Tihar and Chhath. Of the total workers leaving for jobs in the review period this year, 118,165 workers had left through foreign employment agencies and 8,971 individuals had left the country on their own by obtaining individual work permit.

However, the number of workers leaving for Kuwait, another major labour market, has declined to 2,293 workers against 2,881 individuals who left in the same period last fiscal year. Less number of workers to Kuwait is attributed to the decision of the government to impose ban on female workers leaving for domestic help sector in the Gulf countries. This year, 298 female workers left for job in Kuwait, down from last year’s 1,425.

Source: THT