Top team suggests steps to aid Nepalis in Saudi

PRABHAKAR GHIMIRE

KATHMANDU, Sept 29: A high-level Nepali delegation that completed a week-long visit to Saudi Arabia recently is set to recommend a raft of measures to the government, including immediately opening two consulate offices, signing a labor pact and appointing lawyers to support legal battles for Nepali workers in the desert kingdom.

A team of senior officials led by Som Lal Subedi, secretary at the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MoLE), visited different parts of Saudi Arabia, home to over 500,000 Nepali workers according to government data. The team that met senior Saudi officials, has indentified excessive levies being collected by Nepali recruiting companies, unnecessary layers of brokers in both countries, huge number of run-away workers, double contracts for the same jobs, the bad track record of employer companies and problems for the embassy in fighting legal battles due to lack of lawyers as the major problems of Saudi employment. “In view of the rising number of legal cases involving Nepali workers, we are recommending two consulate offices, in Dammam and Jeddah, and appointing of local staff so that our embassy can respond promptly to any untoward event involving Nepali workers,” a senior official in the team told Republica on Saturday. The recommendations are soon to be submitted to Chief Secretary Lilamani Poudel through MoLE. The official also said the team is suggesting to the government to sign a labor pact to secure the interests of Nepalis working in the desert kingdom, where the incidence of abuse by employers is very high. “Saudi officials are showing interest in signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on labor. A labor pact can help minimize cases of abuse and secure the rights of Nepalis employed in this biggest labor destination,” the official added. Given the complicated legal process of dealing with different problems, including repatriating bodies in case of death, settling compensation from employers and legal battles to secure rights, the team is also recommending appointing legal advisors for the embassy, which has so far been relying on local interpreters. The recommendation also stresses effective enforcement of the government-set fee to be levied from job aspirants by manpower agencies, enhancing the skills of job seekers through training and effective orientation prior to departure for Saudi Arabia, and improving the behavior of job aspirants. “We are also concerned about the deteriorating reputation of Nepali manpower agencies, which has diverted the demand for workers to other source countries. Nepali agencies have to show their sincerity by cutting the levy amount,” said the official. The team has found that manpower agencies are levying up to Rs 100,000 each even from job seekers whose recruiting cost is borne entirely by employers. The government has permitted manpower agencies to collect Rs 70,000 per job seeker for Saudi jobs in cases where employers are not bearing the recruiting cost. “Layers of agents between employers and job seekers have driven up the cost of getting jobs. So we need to establish a mechanism to reduce the number of agents in the recruiting process,” the official said. The team has also indentified an increase in the number of cases of workers leaving their previous jobs, workers coming via India without government permission, and multiple labor contracts for the same job. Such workers end up with illegal status. According to officials, around 100,000 Nepalis are working illegally in Saudi Arabia. They are employed mainly as construction, manufacturing and agricultural workers and housemaids.
Published on 2012-09-30 02:07:45

Malaysia firm may repatriate striking Nepali workers

PRABHAKAR GHIMIRE

KATHMANDU, Sept 25: A Malaysian employer company has hinted that it could send striking Nepali workers back home after they said they do not want to work at the company anymore.

Altogether 600 Nepali workers at Malaysian firm Maxter Glove Manuracturing Company near Kuala Lumpur are on strike for the last five days unhappy with the accommodation and food quality provided by the company. The protesting workers said the food and accommodation did not conform to their job contracts.

After more than six hours of negotiations, which was mediated by the Nepali embassy in Kuala Lumpur, between the management and the employers on Sunday, the workers said they would prefer to fly back home instead of working in the company. "The company did express its readiness to respect the job contract during the talks. But majority of workers said they are not willing to work for the company anymore and expressed their desire return home," Amal Kiran Dhakal, labor attaché at Nepali embassy in Kuala Lumpur told Republica over the phone on Monday. Dhakal said the company management has also hinted that it would arrange repatriation for the workers if they continued their strikes. During the talks, the company representatives had urged the workers to return to work expressing commitment to make food and accomodation arrangement as per the job contracts. "Agitating workers were supposed to resume work from today (Monday) morning. However, they did not turn up," said Dhakal. "Now it becomes the employer firm´s responsibility to take initiative to send them back to Nepal. In addition to Nepalis, around 500 Bangladeshi workers too are employed in the company, which is a leading producer and exporter of surgical gloves. After assurance from the employer that the food and accomodation arrangements would be improved, the embassy officials had requested the workers to return to work. "The company has been paying 1000 - 2000 Ringgit per month to the workers, which is good money. If the company sincerely implemented the labor contract, they should return to work," added Dhakal, who mediated the talks. The workers had reached Malaysia to join the company on different dates between last three months and six years through Lucky Human Resource Solution in Lalitpur, a Nepali manpower agency. Some 600 Nepali workers are on strike for last five days charging that the employer company - Maxter Glove Manufacturing Company based in Perak of Kelang Neru near Kuala Lumpur - exploited them in foods and accommodation.
Published on 2012-09-25 04:00:54

600 Nepalis strike in Malaysia

PRABHAKAR GHIMIRE

Demand better food, accommodation
KATHMANDU, Sept 23: About 600 Nepali workers have staged a protest against a Malaysian employer firm demanding quality food and better accommodation. The action has brought the company´s operations to a standstill for the last three days.

The agitating workers at Maxter Glove Manufacturing Company based in Perak of Kelang Neru near Kuala Lumpur, were recruited through a Nepali manpower agency named Lucky Human Resource Solution. “We got information that some 100 workers that recently joined the company are leading the protest, demanding better food being provided by the company´s canteen. The strike has nothing to do with salary and benefits offered by the company,” Rishi Sharma, proprietor of Lucky Human Resource Solution in Lalitpur told Republica on Saturday. However, agitating workers said around 600 workers are participating at the protest. Sharma said agitating workers are getting up to around Ringgit 1,000 per month including 546 as basic salaries as per the job contract. Sharma also said there has been dispute between the workers supporting the agitation and those opposing it. “We are in regular contact with the management of the employer company. We will exert pressure on the company if the workers´ demands are genuine,” Sharma added. Sharma said around 600 Nepalis and 500 Bangladeshis are working in the company that has been producing surgical gloves for overseas export. Nepali workers have also barred Bangladeshis from going to work. Amal Kiran Dhakal, Nepali labor attaché to Malaysia told Republica over the phone that the workers resorted to the protests alleging that the employer company provided substandard food, deducting the amount from their salary. “According to a protesting worker the employer company provided "low quality food" and had deducting certain amount from their salary for that. They have been protesting against the poor living condition inside the hostel. We are heading toward the company tomorrow (Sunday) to take stock of the situation in a bid to resolve the problem,” Dhakal said. Dhakal said he urged the workers not to be aggressive and keep in mind the laws of Malaysia that restrict labor protest without prior information to the employers. Dhakal also said the Malaysian laws enshrine authority to local employers to take action against the agitating works who become absent for more than two consecutive days without prior notification to the employers. Protests of Nepali workers in Malaysia, the most popular destination among Nepali job-seekers, have been reported frequently. Two years ago, Nepali workers had protested against the JCY SDB BHD- a multinational company, blaming the firm of negligence in providing timely treatment for a worker who later died in a local hospital. The three day long protest had led to the crackdown on the agitating workers by Malaysian security personnel.

Govt to open lease, contract farming

PRABHAKAR GHIMIRE

KATHMANDU, Sept 20: The government has prepared a draft of the new Agriculture Enterprises Promotion Act that among other, envisages to pave the way for contract or lease farming and promises incentives to insurance companies to sell farm insurance policies.

The draft prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture Development (MoAD) in association with the Agro Enterprise Center (AEC) of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) will soon be circulated among local stakeholders in the different development regions for feedback, said a senior government official. Keeping in view the large swaths of land being left fallow by landlords, the government came up with the legal provisions to make sure that proper use of cultivable land through contract and leasing system is introduced in the country. “Though we have large tracks of land abandoned without farming across the country by landlords, we are still dependent on imports to fulfill the domestic demands for food grains, fruits and vegetables. The proposed act will pave the way for massive use of fallow land for commercial farming by making available the unused land on lease or contracts to interested farmers,” Pradip Maharjan, Chief Executive Officer of AIC, who is also a member of the drafting committee, told Republica on Wednesday. The act allows the government and private land owners to give their lands on lease or contract for farming. Existing laws don´t cover the contract or lease farming which has made land owners reluctant to allow others to cultivate their land fearing tenancy by tillers. The proposed act also will make clear provision of insurance on farm products such as crops and animals with incentives to insurance companies which sell insurance policies for all kinds of farming system including contract or lease farming. “This proposed act envisions the certain privileges to insurance companies that will sell their insurance policies for the insurance for cattle and crops. We have proposed that companies that paid compensation against loss of farm properties under such insurance scheme, can deduct the amount from their income before tax,” said Maharjan. At a time when there is nominal market access for farm products, the the act has also attempted to encourage opening up agriculture markets in the land provided in lease and contract. “We have also suggested in the draft that the government encourage banks to issue loan to the entrepreneurs for agro-based market,” he added. He said the proposed act will transform absent landlordism, a trend in which real land lords don´t cultivate by staying away from their own land, into commercialization of farming with the involvement of farmers other than landowners. “As per our rough calculation around 20 percent of land in the terai of mid-Western and Far-Western region has been left fallow by land owners. The proposed act will prove to be instrumental for proper utilization of such land for farm commercialization which will ultimately resolves the problems of unemployment and food insecurity,” he added.
Published on 2012-09-20 07:08:23

Nepal-China meet to support Nepal in farm commercialization

PRABHAKAR GHIMIRE

KATHMANDU, Sept 19: Amid frequent problems faced by the Nepali traders in exporting animal products due to strict Chinese quarantine rules, Nepal is preparing to push the northern neighbor to simplify its quarantine procedures when the two sides convene for agricultural ministers´ meet in two weeks in Kathmandu.

Senior officials at the Ministry of Agriculture Development (MoAD) said the issues and agendas of the high-level bilateral talks scheduled from September 30 to October 2 are yet to be finalized. “But quarantine related hassle faced by Nepali exporters will definitely feature at the top of our agenda,” said the source. Dr Ganesh Raj Joshi, secretary of MoAD will be leading the talks on behalf of the Nepali government, while Niu Dun, Chinese Vice Minister for Agriculture will be leading the Chinese seven-member delegation. They are expected to discuss areas of cooperation and also focus on addressing problems seen in trade of agriculture products between the two neighbors, the source told Republica. The MoAD have decided to raise problems of quarantine mainly after sporadic cases of disputes surfaced over the quarantine of Nepali animal products by the Chinese officials. “Our efforts will be aimed at convincing the Chinese sides to simplify the rule so that Nepal´s animal products could find access to the Chinese markets,” said the source. Despite huge potential to export animal products, mainly meats from Nepal to Tibet, its exports have not been smooth due to complicated quarantine system put in place by the Chinese customs officials. Similarly, Nepali officials are also requesting China to sell chemical fertilizers to Nepal, which has been facing frequent shortage due to unreliable sources of imports. “Amid increasing demand from our farmers and absence of reliable sources of supply, we are proposing China to sell chemical fertilizers, as an alternative source,” said the source. Though Nepal has been importing chemical fertilizers from India and other countries, the process of procurement has been lengthy and unreliable. This has led to acute shortage of fertilizers across the country during major farming seasons. Similarly, Nepal is also requesting Chinese officials to support strengthening the capacity of Nepal´s agriculture resource centers, improving farm infrastructures and enhancing capacity of agriculture human resources. The officials said Chinese officials have already conveyed their interest to support Nepal in enhancing its farm productivity and commercializing the animal farming, fishery and boosting agro production in hill areas in Nepal. The official also said China´s proposed supports include commercialization of animal farming through use of improved breeds of animals such as yak, sheep and mountain goats to boost production. “Besides cooperation in animal farming, China has also shown interest in supporting us to expanding fish farming and boosting citrus fruits production and cereal products in hill districts of the country,” said the source. Nepal suffered a trade deficit of around Rs 44 billion with the world second largest economy during the fiscal year 2010/11 due to weak supply strength from Nepali sides. Major commodities being imported to China, which is Nepal´s second largest trading partner, are live plants, milled rice, wheat flour, noodles, incense sticks, hides, jewelries, mattress and vegetables, among others. Similarly, Nepal´s has been importing electronic goods, electrical items, garments, shoes, vehicles, machineries, home appliances, fruits and vegetables from China.
Published on 2012-09-19 04:16:48

Republica scribe Ghimire honored

KATHMANDU, Sept 16: Prabhakar Ghimire, senior correspondent of this daily, was honored in the capital on Sunday for his contribution to the journalism sector. Nepal Cultural Association on the day facilitated around two dozen personalities, including Ghimire, recognizing their contribution in their respective fields.

Nepali Congress (NC) President Shusil Koirala, senior NC leader and former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and NC vice-president Ram Chandra Poudel jointly felicitated them on the occasion of 99th BP Day.

Politicization of additional lock on containers delay operations of new transit routes

PRABHAKAR GHIMIRE

KATHMANDU, Aug 29: Nepal has failed to take benefit of trading via five new transit routes pledged by India as the government continued to linger on finalization of Letter of Exchange (LoE) needed to operationalize those routes for more than a year.

India in February 2011 had officially informed it was ready to open those routes - which include land routes between Vishakapatnam sea port and four major customs, rail route between Birgunj dry port and Vishakapatnam and also Rohanpur (India)-Singhabad (Bangladesh)-Jogbani (India) - as soon as the two side ink LoE. “We had readied and even exchanged the LoE with the Indian counterpart almost a year ago,” said a highly placed official at Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS). However, the whole process of getting the LoE endorsed by the cabinet and inking the deal came to a grinding halt after Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) took over the issue. The LoE has gathered dust since almost a year, said sources at the foreign ministry adding that the LoE has been lingered mainly because Foreign Ministry Narayan Kaji Shrestha is not positive towards agreeing additional one-time lock -- extra sealing by India officials on Nepal bound cargo containers - agreed by the MoCS and the private sector. “Basically he fears his nod on the provision of additional lock could invite opposition from the political parties, portraying him as anti-national,” said a senior MoFA official. Experts, meanwhile, said that the apathy of Shrestha had not only prevented Nepal from starting third country trade via more efficient Vishakapatnam sea port, but also dampened the prospect of trading with Bangladesh directly via the rail route. “More seriously it will weaken Nepal´s bargaining power when the two sides sit for talks for renewing the bilateral Treaty of Transit, which was signed in 1999 and is set to expire January 5, 2013,” said Posh Raj Pandey, executive chairman of South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE) - an independent think tank. He along with the private sector leaders opined that Nepal should not delay in finalizing LoE, for the condition of additional one-time lock proposed by India, as it would facilitate the smooth movement of goods to Nepal via Indian territory, instead of hindering it. “A study conducted by SAWTEE has shown that additional one-time lock that two side started on Kolkatta-Nepal route a year ago had smoothened the movement of overseas goods via India to Nepal,” said Pandey. Business community too said there was no problem with the additional lock, only some of the leaders in the government were looking at it from political perspective. India had long been putting pressure on Nepali officials to agree on the additional one-time lock before the renewal of the transit treaty between two countries, citing security concerns and cases of transshipment of goods destined to Nepal in India. “They have even given indications they will introduce the additional lock on the new routes, irrespective of whether Nepal likes it or not,” said the MoCS official. “Besides, there is no point of opposing it when it has been easing our trade as well,” he added. Since last year, India has been imposing the additional lock system on Kolkatta-Nepal routes which is sole cargo route being used by Nepal for overseas imports. China has also practicing additional one-time lock system on the container cargos destined to Kathmandu through Tatopani customs.
Published on 2012-08-29 05:30:22

WB to support trade, facilitate transit with India

PRABHAKAR GHIMIRE

KATHMANDU, Sept 9: The World Bank (WB) has agreed in principal to support Nepal to enhance trade with India by developing required trade infrastructures and setting up a system that will smoothen transit of goods between the two South Asian nations.

A source at the WB told Republica that the support would be extended under Nepal-India Transit and Trade Facilitation Project (NITTFP), which is presently in a preparatory phase. “On the back of host of problems in trade and transit of goods between two countries despite that we huge trade potentiality with the southern neighbor, the WB showed interest to support us in upgrading existing trade infrastructures and systematizing the trade and transit between two countries,” the source said. The source said a study was underway to identify ways to implement the assistance effectively. However, the source declined to disclose the possible amount of assistance under the project. According to the source the assistance includes widening of the 36-km long Narayanghat-Mugling road which links Mahendra Highway with Prithwi highway. Amid different hassles in the process of exporting and importing of goods, the assistance is aimed at introducing one-window systems in major customs offices in the southern part of the country. “As we are frequently facing problems in shipping the goods through Narayanghat-Mugling road, which is crucial for the supplies of goods to capital, the WB´s support will be instrumental to remove the bottleneck in road transportation,” the source said. The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) had few months back asked the WB to extend support in introducing the system and developing the infrastructures to facilitate trade with Asia´s third largest economy. The WB is also supporting to introduce one-window policy in key customs- a move that would reduce the trading time and procedure with Nepal´s largest trade partner. The WB assistance also includes introducing frequent monitoring of cargo along Kathmandu-Kolkata routes to ensure the hassle-free transit of goods along the sole transit route for Nepal for the trade with India and overseas countries. The WB has also agreed to extend support for establishing Inland Clearance Depot (ICD) in Dodhara-Chadani area located in far western Nepal. “We expect ICD will open up avenue to boost trade through one of the most backward regions of the country with the most populous nation of South Asia,” the source further added. Similarly, construction of Container Freight Station near the capital is also included in the proposed assistance. Under the assistance, WB is also conducting an in-depth study to suggest measures to simplify the bi-lateral trade to both the governments. More than two-third of Nepal´s total foreign trade is with India. Nepal imported goods worth Rs 260 billion from India against the export of around Rs 43 billion during the fiscal year 2010/11.
Published on 2012-09-09 03:00:08

Nepal asks Israel to resume hiring caregivers

PRABHAKAR GHIMIRE

KATHMANDU, Sept 5: The government is mulling various options to make the recruitment process of Nepali caregivers in Israel transparent after Israel stopped issuing visas to aspirant caregivers three years ago objecting to exorbitant commissions charged by Nepali manpower agencies. Talking to Republica on Monday, a top government source said senior officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MoLE) are discussing four options - involving the government in the recruitment process as practiced under the Employment Permit System (EPS) by South Korea, increasing the existing recruitment charge by manpower agents, verifying the recruitment documents through coordination between the embassies of both the countries, or interviewing the job aspirants before the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) gives employment permission to Israel - to ensure that the workers have not been overcharged by their manpower agents. Though the government has fixed the charge at Rs 75,000 per job-seeker (excluding air ticket), manpower agents have been found charging up to Rs 500,000. Minister for Labor and Employment Kumar Belbase invited Israeli ambassador to Nepal Hanan Goder-Goldberger to the ministry on Monday to seek Israel´s cooperation for restarting the recruitment of caregivers. "We urged Israeli envoy to resume issue of visas for Nepali caregivers. We will monitor the Nepali recruitment agencies and we are ready to establish a transparent system for selecting workers. We have also expected Israel´s cooperation in controlling exorbitant commissions being charged by Israeli local brokers," Minister Belbase told Republica after the meeting. Nepali recruitment agencies say the charge for sending Nepali workers increases due to high charges levied by the Israeli brokers. A total of 151 Nepali agencies are involved in sending workers to Israel. During the meeting Israeli ambassador Goldberger asked Nepal government to end the practice of ´under the table´ dealings between jobs seekers and manpower agencies. "Israeli envoy has expressed serious concerns over the practice of under the table agreement between recruitment agencies and job aspirants, which is the main reason for higher cost. He also said the Israel government would work to prevent Israeli recruitment agents from levying higher charges on Nepali recruitment agents," said Belbase. On the occasion Minister Belbase had stressed the need for establishing strong mechanism to end irregularities by ensuring transparency in the recruitment process. Currently, some 8,000 Nepalis are working as caregivers or farm workers in Israel, the most lucrative job market for Nepali women workers. At the meeting, the Israeli envoy had informed to Nepali officials that around 100 Nepali caregivers reached Israel during the fiscal year 2011/12. However, DoFE´s data shows that only eight Nepalis flew to Israel to work as caregivers during the year.
Published on 2012-09-05 03:30:20

Agency to agency pacts a must for Kuwait-bound maids

PRABHAKAR GHIMIRE

KATHMANDU, Sept 11: The government is soon to impose a ban on the long-running practice of recruiting domestic maids for Kuwait through individual channels, and introduce a system that makes the involvement of agencies in both Nepal and Kuwait manadory in the recruitment process.
Officials said the switch is being made mainly to make sure that aspirant women workers do not fall prey to false promises and their rights in the workplace are protected.

“The existing system of recruitment of domestic maids through individual contacts is the major cause of the host of problems facing maids in Kuwait. So, we are soon to make the signing of job agreements between employment agencies in both countries mandatory,” Purna Chandra Bhattarai, director general of the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE), told Republica. "It will enable us to promptly identify and deal with cases of violence and different forms of exploitation faced by Nepali maids in Kuwait."

Kuwait, already home to around 50,000 workers (some 23,000 are officially recorded), is the key destination for Nepali housemaids. DoFE data shows that a total of 24,575 workers, most of them housemaids, left for Kuwait during fiscal year 2011/12.

“As the number of domestic workers leaving for Kuwait is increasing every year through insecure ways, we are enforcing a system which will be instrumental in protecting them from different forms of exploitation by their employers,” said Bhattarai.

Existing Kuwaiti laws don´t incorporate the rights of domestic workers, leaving them vulnerable to different forms of violence.

Worse still, the existing practice of recruiting housemaids through individual channels is adding to their woes as individual brokers do not take any responsibility in case of problems in the workplace. Individual brokers tend to go out of contact from DoFE and the workers once they send the workers to overseas destinations.

“Cases of exploitation of Nepali maids will automatically decrease once agency to agency agreements are introduced because under this system we can hold the agencies of both countries accountable if any exploitation or violence is meted out to Nepali maids in Kuwait,” Bhattarai said.

He also said the proposed new system will make it easy for the Nepali embassy in Kuwait to deal with cases of mistreatment of maids by employers.

According to Bhattarai, more than 75 percent of housemaids receiving permission from DoFE are headed for Kuwait.

In an effort to mitigate exploitation by employers and violence against housemaids, and discourage the sending abroad of under-age female workers on forged passports, the government imposed a ban a month ago on the despatch of female workers aged below 30 to the Gulf.

106 victimized maid returned from UAE, 7 sheltering at embassy

Meanwhile, 106 Nepali domestic servants subjected to violence and exploitation by employers were repatriated by the Nepalese Embassy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over three years ending the second week of August.

The DoFE stated that seven maids who were also mistreated and tortured by their employers, are still sheltering at the embassy, waiting to be flown back home.“Like in other Gulf countries, housemaids in the UAE are also subjected to torture, sexual violence and exploitation over wages by their employees," said Bhattarai'

Published on 2012-09-11 00:00:01