MoLE told to enforce minimum cost system only after completing 'necessary homework'

KATHMANDU, June 29:

The International Relations and Labor Committee of legislature-parliament has directed the government not to implement 'minimum cost system' until the labor agreement is signed with labor destination countries.

The meeting of the parliamentary panel held on Monday instructed Ministry of Labor and Employment (MoLE) to enforce the decision of free airfare and visa system only after completing 'necessary homework'.

The committee on the day questioned Minister of State for Labor and Employment Tek Bahadur Gurung and MoLE Secretary Bhola Prasad Shiwakoti on the wake of criticisms from manpower companies about the ministry's decision to implement free airfare and visa system for workers heading to six Gulf countries as well as Malaysia.

Earlier on June 9, MoLE, through the state minister-level decision, had introduced a provision of issuing work permit to workers only if the recipient companies agree to cover round trip airfare and visa fee of workers and not cut expenses of aspiring workers from his/her salary.

MoLE had introduced the provision for Malaysia as well as Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Kuwait.

The parliamentary committee has concluded that the ministry's decision might lead to reduction in demand for Nepali workers and divert such demand toward other countries.

The committee, however, has said that such decision is 'necessary and appropriate'. "However, adequate homework is needed to enforce the minimum cost system," reads the decision of the committee.

The committee has directed the ministry to strictly implement the minimum cost provision for the workers heading to countries with which Nepal has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the labor issue and introduce the provision of free airfare in agreement with other labor destination countries and implement it gradually.

The government has signed labor agreement with only Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Japan and South Korea so far.

The committee has also directed MoLE to sign MoU with all 110 labor receiving countries, including Portugal, where overseas firms are sending Nepali workers.

Parliamentarians Chudamani BK, Rajan Bhattarai, Som Pandey, Bharat Khadka, Binod Shrestha, Pemba Lama and Gita Wagle, among others, raised their concern at the meeting.

"The committee has directed the ministry to implement free airfare and visa only to the countries with whom Nepal has signed MoU and start the process to sign the MoU with other countries so that minimum cost system can be included in the MoU," Prabhu Sah, chairman of the committee, told Republica.

Speaking at the meeting Minister for State Gurung said that the government plans to enforce minimum cost system, starting with seven largest worker recipient countries. "We introduced the minimum cost system as workers going to Malaysia and Gulf countries are largely unskilled and they spend more than what they earn to go there," Gurung argued.

MoLE Secretary Shiwakoti told Republica that the ministry will take decision about the implementation of free airfare and visa provision after studying the committee's written instruction.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister's Secretariat also wrote to MoLE on Monday, asking it to reconsider the minimum cost system, stating that implementation of such provision would be appropriate only after signing agreement with labor receiving countries.

Source: Republica