E-Kantipur

KATHMANDU, JUL 11 - The government has begun investigations against foreign employment agencies involved in cheating Nepali workers amid increasing cases of fraud and cheating along with rising demand for workers.

The Department of Foreign Employment has formed a three-member committee under the coordination of its legal officer Hari Singh Dhami to look into errant agencies. It has begun issuing letters to agencies against which complaints have been filed demanding clarification.

“Based on the investigation report, we can shut down offending agencies, impose a fine or even put their proprietors behind bars,” said Mohammad Ishtiyak Rai, minister for Labour and Transport Management. He added that the committee would look into all the fraud cases filed during the last two-four years.

There are an estimated 100 agencies against which complaints of cheating have been filed. Recently, the Nepal Embassy in Doha, Qatar recommended action against 47 manpower agencies and asked the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Labour and Transportation Management and the Department of Foreign Employment not to allow them to operate their businesses. The embassy’s list includes SOS Manpower which had bagged the best agency award last year presented by the government.

Demand for Nepali workers has been increasing significantly from Qatar with the country focusing on infrastructure

development for the FIFA World Cup 2022.

Lal Babu Kawari, director of the Department of Foreign Employment, said that the committee would investigate all

the cases filed with the department besides the recommendations made by Nepali embassies. “First, we will scrutinize the 40 agencies based on the recommendations of the Nepal Embassy in Qatar and seven agencies involved in sending workers to Israel,” he added.

According to the Department of Foreign Employment, it has already shut down 29 manpower agencies for cheating workers. It will ask for evidence from the embassies making recommendations for action in order to make the investigation more effective.

The Labour Ministry said that since most of the recommendations were made based only on the complaints made by workers without strong proof, they had been facing difficulties in taking legal action. “Roughly 90 percent of the recommendations made by the embassies abroad are not supported by strong evidence,” said Minister Rai.

Posted on: 2011-07-11 09:51

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