KATHMANDU, AUG 24 -The government is all set to finalise the action plan to monitor institutions employing non-Nepali workers illegally. The Department of Labour has said the action plan is ready and will be formally endorsed within a couple of days.
“We have readied the action plan and it will be formally approved within a couple of days,” said Man Bahadur BK, director general of the department, who is also the coordinator of the Non-Nepali Employee Monitoring Committee.
Based on the action plan, the department will form a monitoring team involving officials from ministries concerned such as Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Women Children and Social Welfare and Ministry of Home Affairs to conduct monitoring in institutions related to respective ministries. According to the department, the committee will conduct inspection in at least 10 institutions within a month.
The committee has already requested to the ministries to this effect and some ministries have already deputed officials for the team.
Officials at the department said INGOs and hydropower projects, among others, have comparatively higher number of foreign workers. Other sectors hiring foreigners include telecom, education, airlines, hospitality, banking, consultancy firms, NGOs and diplomatic missions. The department has also demanded the Ministry of Labour and Transport Management to allocate needful resources for carrying out monitoring throughout the country. It is estimated that the committee needs around Rs 1.5 million for the current fiscal year.
About a month ago, the department had sought details of foreigners’ employed at private organisations and INGOs. Similarly, it had asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to correspond with all diplomatic missions to provide information about their employees who do not enjoy diplomatic privilege. It had also asked for details about foreign staff at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and GIZ Nepal. However, very few institutions, including some INGOs, have furnished the asked details.
BK said UNDP has not responded to the department until Tuesday, while GIZ says non-Nepali workers have been hired based on the bilateral agreement with the Ministry of Finance. “Diplomatic missions and INGOs are not aware of the Labour Act, under which all foreign workers hired under the bilateral or multilateral agreements should compulsorily acquire work permit from the labour department,” he added. The department does not have any official data on the number of non-Nepali workers. It estimates that around 50,000 foreigners are working in Nepal illegally in different fields. “The team to be formed will collect data visiting related organisations and if they are found employing non-Nepals without employment permit, such institutions will be panelised as per the Labour Act,” said Bhim Prasad Bhattarai, an official at the department, who is also a member of the committee.
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