Social security for self-employed workers: Minister Shrestha

Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security Krishna Kumar Shrestha said the incumbent government was doing homework to guarantee social security for those workers in the informal sector and the self-employed ones.

Responding to the queries raised by the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security in the Appropriation Bill-2079 BS, Minister Shrestha said on Monday laws and legislations were being formulated to bring as many self-employed and informal sector workers under the ambit of social security.

Directives for the reintegration of returnees Nepali migrant workers were presented to the Council of Ministers for approval, said Shrestha, adding that reintegration programmes such as 'Reintegration of Returnee Migrant Workers (ReMi) are soon to be implemented in support of the Swiss government while the similar programme will be enforced in support of the South Korean government.

To encourage the returnee migrants for entrepreneurship, awards and rewards programmes will implement, according to the Minister.

Furthermore, he shared that a five-year strategic plan was formulated for the first time in the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, which aims to promote self-employment programmes among the returnee workers and guarantee their social security and other benefits such as accident insurance and compensation among others.

The Minister mentioned that earlier there were four rounds of the process for renewal of labour permits. “It has been cut down to two currently. A Help Desk has been set up in the concerned offices for facilitation of the service-seekers.”

Currently, Nepalese are permitted to work in 178 countries with a personal labour permit while to work in 111 countries, they ought to obtain an institutional labour permit.

Against this backdrop, the Minister shared that preparation was afoot to ink a labour pact with the UK for the first time. Also, he shared that preparation was underway at his initiations to ink a labour pact with the Maldives, Seychelles and Israel.

The Ministry held consultations with Heads of various 16 foreign diplomatic missions in Nepal as well as the representatives of international organizations to address the issues facing Nepalese migrant workers and to protect the professional security of Nepalese migrant workers abroad. Online services have been launched to provide financial assistance, and scholarships for the children of those Nepalese migrant workers passing away in their countries of destination, he said.

Information about the services such as labour permits issued daily and the reports on such services have been uploaded on the website of the Foreign Employment Board and its notice boards regularly.

The Minister said five shelter homes have been set up in Oman, Kuwait, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to house the stranded and rescued Nepali migrant workers. Moreover, Labour Consular and Labour Attaché have been appointed in Qatar, Malaysia, UAE, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman.

The budget has been allocated to prepare DPR for the construction of the Labour Hospital. A thematic working committee has been working towards amending the Foreign Employment Policy- 2086 BS, Foreign Employment Act-2064 BS and Labour Act-2074 BS among others, the Minister said.

He expressed at his conference that foreign employment management will undergo changes and as many as workers could come under the ambit of social security.