E-Kantipur

KATHMANDU, FEB 23 -

With infrastructure development works targeting the 2022 Soccer World Cup intensifying, Qatar has emerged as one of the top destinations for migrant workers. The latest statistics of the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) show that Qatar has outpaced Malaysia as the topmost foreign employment destination in the last one month.

As per the DoFE’s figures, a total of 11,098 persons left for Qatar last month, followed by Malaysia and Saudi Arabia with 6,423 and 5,385 individuals respectively. In the last two months, Qatar has hired more Nepali workers than Malaysia. It hired 9,627 Nepalis during the period mid-December to mid-January against 9,061 in Malaysia.

Compared to the first month of the current fiscal year, migrant workers’ departure to Qatar has doubled in the seventh month. Around 5,000 Nepalis had left for Qatar during mid-July to mid-August.

On the other hand, workers’ departure to Malaysia has nosedived by 50 percent. Compared to 12,000 departures during mid-July to mid-August, only 6000 Nepalis left for Malaysia during mid-January to mid-February.

Nepal has also benefited from Qatar’s ban on Bangladeshi workers. It has been imposing the ban for the last five months. “There has been a sharp rise in Qatar departures, with infrastructure development works gaining momentum and ban on Bangladeshi workers,” said Kumud Khanal, general secretary of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies.

The DoFE’s data also shows that more Nepalis are going away for foreign employment. The first seven months (mid-July 2010 to mid-February 2011) of the current fiscal year saw a significant surge of 23.49 percent in the departure of migrant workers. In the first seven months, a total of 185,652 individuals left for foreign employment against 149,729 in the same period last year.

According to foreign employment agencies, departures to Malaysia decreased after the country halted issuing labour quotas for the last six months. “Owing to the long implementation process of Malaysia’s new mechanism of hiring foreign workers, issuance of new labour quotas has halted,” said Khanal. “This is why departure to Malaysia decreased.”

According to Khanal, the Malaysian government is preparing to issue the quotas from March. “After the resumption of issuance of the quotas, departure to Malaysia will increase,” said Khanal.

However, Malaysia is still the number one destination for foreign employment of Nepali workers. Malaysia, the largest employer of Nepali labour, took in 67,486 workers in the first seven months.

Qatar absorbed 48,668 Nepalis over the review period. With Qatar building 10 football stadiums and four big hotels, labour demand from Qatar will increase, said human resource outsourcing agencies. It has aimed at completing all these constructions within 2020.

Other major destinations for Nepali migrant workers are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. These countries hired 35,040, 21,937 and 5,239 Nepalis respectively over the period.

According to Khanal, manpower agencies have not been able to send workers as per the foreign companies’ demand because of the government’s inability to issue enough passports. “Passport demand stands at 1,000 units per day, but the government has been distributing only 600-700 passports,” said Khanal.

Posted on: 2011-02-23 09:04

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