PERMIT FOR FOREIGN WORKERS : Plan implementation hits funds-crunch hurdle
Useful Links
» A new way to read online, exact replica of your daily and magazine
» For all you tweety fans out there!
» Allows you to find only those news from any date you choose!
» Search any news/ articles by author/ category/ date/ keyword
KATHMANDU, NOV 17 -
The government’s plan to effectively implement the work permit rule for foreigners working in Nepal has suffered a setback due to inadequate budget.
With the government allocating just around Rs 200,000 for the implementation of the plan this year, the Department of Labour (DoL) that was assigned to handle the job is facing difficulties in monitoring agencies employing foreigners.
As international non-government organisations, a majority of the diplomatic missions and business entities ignored the government’s call to have work permits issued to their staff, the DoL had planned to monitor them to encourage and force them to implement the provision. “Despite our readiness to begin the monitoring task, we have not been able to do so due to lack of budget,” said Man Bahadur BK, the DoL director general.
He said that though the department had asked the Ministry of Labor and Transport Management (MoLTM) to provide budget of around 1.27 million more than a month ago, the latter has not responded so far. However, a senior official at the MoLTM said they have already forwarded a letter to the Ministry of Finance requesting it to release the fund at the earliest.
According to a DoL source, as much as 50,000 foreigners are working in Nepal, while only around 7,000 of them have received labour permits so far. In order to effectively monitor areas that include hydro power companies, multinational companies, banks and finance companies, NGO/INGOs and diplomatic missions, the department has also formed five different committees.
A large number of foreigners working in several diplomatic missions, NGO/INGOs and some other top business firms, including both the manufacturing and the service sector, have not taken labour permit.
After the government announced that it would implement the work permit rule for foreigners, an additional 800 foreign workers have received labour permit, according to the DoL. “A large number of workers and firms are approaching us and making queries on the work permit system,” said Bhim Bhattarai, a section officer at the DoL.
The DoL had planned to begin monitoring work from Kathmandu Valley and expand it across the country. “Without additional budget, we are not in a position to carry out monitoring across the country,” BK said.
According to the department, there is no authorised data on the status of foreign workers in Nepal, including, when and how they came in, where they came from, in which sectors they are working in and their income. The DoL is now planning to conduct an independent research in this regard.
Posted on: 2011-11-17 09:16
Post Your Comment