MONEY»
Nepali workers’ image dents in Malaysia
KATHMANDU, SEP 01 -
Labour outsourcing agencies, particularly those entertaining demands from Malaysia, are worried about the recent protest
staged by Nepali migrant workers and declining labour demands as a consequence.
They said that Nepali workers’ protest against the JCY SDB BHD—a multinational company that lasted three consecutive days after the death of a Nepali worker, left a negative impact about Nepalis in Malaysia, the largest labour absorbing country.
“Multinational companies and local Malaysian firms have started a serious re-think about hiring Nepali workers,” said Kumud Khanal, general secretary of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies. “The Malaysians have also presented the protest issue by the Nepali workers in the cabinet. At this juncture, our government must send a high level team to help change negative thinking about Nepali.”
Nepali foreign employment agencies think that Malaysia might revise its decision to absorb labour from Nepal. As far as Malaysia is concerned, Nepal is the second largest labour supplying country after Indonesia.
Mohan Krishna Sapkota, director general of the Department of Foreign Employment, said that they had heard that Malaysian firms have started showing less interest in Nepali workers after the incident. “So far, however, we have not got any intimation about labour demand cut,” he added.
Following the protest, there is fear among the labour supplying angencies that Malaysian government could again start hiring workers from Bangladesh to edge out Nepali migrant workers.
“If they open Bangladesh, that will create a big problem for Nepali workers in future,” said Khanal. “Some firms have already started slashing the demand for Nepali workers.”
During the last fiscal year, it absorbed over 113,900 workers from among a total 294,094 individuals leaving the country for work.
“There are many companies that run for 24 hours and need a continuous flow of workers,” said Khanal. “The potential labour seeking firms are now skeptical because of the trend of Nepali workers forming networks affiliated to political parties, districts and race.”
In Malaysia, Nepali workers have formed 73 organisations related to political parties. Malaysia is also famous among the returnees as well because 30 percent working currently in Malaysia have re-visited there for work and 20 percent are those have gone to the country after coming back from Gulf countries.
Sapkota said that workers leaving for Malaysia ought to be well informed of the labour law of the host country.
Posted on: 2010-09-02 08:26
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