40 percent of Nepalis dependent on agents in foreign employment

Based on the answers of 1,593 Nepali workers, a group led by Dr Jeevan Baniyan has concluded that 40 percent of people resorted to agents to get employed abroad.

A study conducted by the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT) in partnership with the Recruitment Advisors and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) found that 32 per cent of the people went directly to the relevant manpower companies for employment.

The Government of Nepal has repealed the provision of agents working as a means of contacting the licensed organization (manpower company) for the people who want to go for foreign employment. However, 40 percent of people reach out to manpower companies for foreign employment through agents. The financial burden on the workers is being increased as the agents are also sending service charges keeping their commission.

Of the 1,593 people involved in the study, more than 98 percent said they had paid the admission fee. Those who pay the admission fee have to pay an average of Rs 1 lakh. Less than 2 percent of those surveyed said they did not incur any fees or expenses.

Most of those surveyed said they had received an employment contract and that 95 percent of them understood the language written on it. Some said that they could not read it but were read out to by a representative of the manpower company.

One third of the respondents said that they were not given the required employment in the destination country and half of the respondents said that they were not given the required salary.

Ninety-six percent of respondents said they were unable to keep their personal documents (including passports) while they were employed. Similarly, only 4 percent said they had the right to join a trade union when they were in the destination country and 83 percent said they did not have the right to return home at any time.

Seventy-eight percent of the respondents rated the manpower company they served as one to three stars. Seventy percent said they were reluctant to use the manpower company again, while only 26 percent said they would like to return to their former employer for employment.