‘Till Opportunities Are Created Here, Foreign Employment Will Remain A Viable Option’

November 22, 2002
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— Lalit Bahadur Thapa

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Lalit Bahadur Thapa is the director-general of the Department of Labor and Employment Promotion. The department monitors and facilitates the foreign employment sector. He spoke to SANJAYA DHAKAL on various issues surrounding foreign employment/migrant labor. Excerpts:

How do you see the growth trend of foreign employment?

In fiscal year 2056/57, the number of laborers who went overseas (excluding India) for employment was 54,000 to 55,000. This number rose to 104,000 in the fiscal year 2057/58. This growth was mainly due to sudden increase in the demand for laborers from Malaysia. Besides, the labor demand from Gulf countries has also not declined.

Does the number you mentioned above also include those laborers who have gone there through unofficial channels?

No, this number only includes those people who have gone through registered manpower supplying companies. Those who go on their own are not included.

What is the volume of those who go through unofficial or personal channels?

I am not in a position to provide exact numbers of such migrant laborers. But I can say that their number is much higher than those who go through official channels.

Which are the main countries where Nepalese laborers go?

Apart from India, it is the Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and so on. Lately, the number of migrant laborers to Malaysia has been rising high.

Do you think the number of youths seeking foreign employment has risen drastically due to the deteriorating law-and-order situation in rural areas?

I don’t think so. In fact, their number has risen due to the rise in the demand for laborers from countries like Malaysia. Recently, there was even demand from USA for Nepalese laborers.

How does the government take the foreign employment sector?

The government believes that till there is creation of enough employment opportunities within the country, foreign employment will be a viable option. It is also the leading foreign exchange generating sector at present. Therefore, the government has looked positively towards this sector and is intent on regulating it.

There have been reports of fraud and deception of naive people by manpower companies as well as foreign employers. What is the government doing to check it?

There are two kinds of fraud. One that is carried out by registered manpower agencies, which is very negligible. The other one happens to people who go through unofficial and personal channels. It is easy to take action if the fraud is done by licensed agencies but very difficult in the case of unregistered swindlers. It is very imperative that such frauds be exposed and taken action against. For example, many innocent persons fall into trap when somebody hoodwinks them by promising that they would send them to certain countries. The government has adopted two-pronged strategy to deal with such frauds. One is to launch massive media and public awareness campaign so that people are aware and another is to take action against fraudsters. Till now the government has already lodged 145 such fraud cases in the district court — out of which 8 are against companies and 137 against various persons. The department has already revoked registration of 43 companies and 13 are currently black-listed. The department has also been able to get back 24 million rupees and has refunded it to victims.

What is the contribution of foreign remittance to the national economy?

The contribution is immense. Although the department does not keep records of such remittance, it is at least 14 billion rupees annually.

It is also said that most Nepalese laborers are unskilled and that they could earn many times more if they were skilled. What do you say?

Well, we have found that the demand for unskilled laborers are quite high. Almost 80 percent of the demand is for unskilled workers. Anyway, the government agrees that it would be appropriate if we could send skilled laborers. The department itself operates 16 training centers where people are taught skills like plumbing, house-wiring, carpentry etc. There are many such institutions in the private sector. As far as possible, the government
thinks it is better to send skilled laborers.

There have also been reports of providing loan money to prospective migrant laborer. How is this work progressing?

Well, the budget this year had also mentioned providing Rs100,000 loan to 100,000 people seeking to go overseas for employment. The loan would be provided to persons who are unable to afford it themselves. The focal body for facilitating this procedure is the Employment promotion Commission.