Kathmandu, August 7: Manpower agency operators have launched a protest, claiming that the government has failed to address the 15-point demand they submitted on Shrawan 7. The Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies announced its protest programs today.
The association has declared that, starting tonight, it will no longer avail itself of the services provided by the Department of Foreign Employment. Speaking at a press conference held today, the association’s First Vice President, Mahesh Kumar Basnet, said they would not use any government services until their demands are addressed.
The department provides services such as preliminary and final labour approvals, advertisement approvals, and demand letter verification. The association announced that it would refrain from using these services until its demands are met.
Basnet also said that the association would continue dialogue and discussions with the government and other stakeholders during the course of the protest. As part of its phased protest, the association stated that if its demands remain unaddressed, recruitment agencies will hand over the keys to their offices to the government. If the demands are still ignored, they will shut down their offices from Bhadra 1 and stop sending workers for foreign employment.
The Department of Foreign Employment had earlier taken action against recruitment agencies that sent workers abroad via Indian airports.
The association has demanded that the action be withdrawn, that transparent worker costs and a scientific service fee for recruitment agencies be determined, that airfares to labour destination countries be reduced, and that the artificial shortage of airline tickets be ended, among other demands.
Association President Dick Bahadur Khatri said that workers who have already obtained labour approval by today will be allowed time until Bhadra 1 to depart for foreign employment. He warned that any recruitment agency sending workers abroad during the protest would be expelled from the association’s membership.
People’s News Monitoring Service.
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