Organisations with foreign workers to be monitored

KATHMANDU, JUL 01 - In a bid to apply the work permit system for foreigners more strictly, the government is preparing an action plan to start monitoring in organisations employing foreigners. The Ministry of Labour and Transport Management (MoLTM) has said that it would start monitoring within a week.

The ministry has formed a central monitoring committee and has issued a notice to get work permits from the Department of Labour for all foreigners working in the country.

“We are currently working on an action plan that will monitor all the organisations having foreign workers,” said Man Bahadur BK, director general of the department
. He added that they would first collect data from all the institutions employing foreigners and then start monitoring based on the data received to take legal action against companies not abiding by the law.

BK said that they would hold consultations with all the stakeholders and finalise the format of the form to be circulated among organisations employing foreign workers. The government is also planning to involve immigration and other government officials in the committee to make it more powerful.

Following ministry’s notice to get work permits, 200 persons have obtained work permits from the department in the last 15 days. The Labour Department said more and more companies had started applying for work permits.

BK said that most of the work permits issued were for foreigners working in hydropower projects. He added that professionals working in INGOs had also been inquiring about employment permission in Nepal. “Foreigners working in INGOs apart from other sectors do not seem to be aware about the mandatory provision of work permit,” he added.

There are an estimated 50,000 foreigners working illegally in the country, and a majority of them are said to be employed as workers or volunteers in INGOs for development activities in almost all parts of the country. Department officials said that the data to be collected soon from all organisations providing jobs to foreigners would give a clear picture on the total number of foreign workers, their legal status and the sector where they are employed.

Foreign workers are employed in diplomatic missions, consultancy firms, educational institutions, hotels, restaurants, banks, airlines, construction, telecom and the hydro power sector, among others. The ministry said that most foreigners working illegally in Nepal had entered the country on a tourist visa and such workers had been causing huge losses in income tax and work permit fees to the government.

Krishna Hari Pushkar Karna, assistant spokesperson and under secretary at the ministry, said that the government would make all foreigners working in Nepal, except diplomatic staff enjoying diplomatic privilege and immunity, to acquire work permits compulsorily. “Organisations not acquiring permission will be punished as per labour or immigration laws,” he added.

As per the Labour Act 1992, it is mandatory for foreigners entering Nepal to work to get a labour permit. The department charges Rs 10,000 a year for a work permit for foreigners and Rs 5,000 for Indian nationals.