KATHMANDU, MARCH 16

The federal government has developed the 'Migrant Resource Centre (Operation and Management) Procedure, 2022' in a bid to provide information, counselling and other necessary assistance to Nepali migrant workers and their families for making foreign employment safe, dignified, and systematic.

As per the procedure, migrant workers refer to Nepali citizens preparing to leave for foreign employment, working in foreign countries after obtaining work permit, and returning home after working abroad. There will be National Migrant Resource Centre at the Secretariat of Foreign Employment Board to maintain the quality and consistency of information, counselling, and other services to be provided from Migrant Resource Centres and Sub-centres.

The procedure stipulates a provision for a nine-member steering committee headed by executive director of the secretariat.

Its members comprise high-level officials from the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, and Department of Foreign Employment as well as experts and representative from the organisation of returnee migrant workers. The committee will provide policy guidelines to the National Migrant Resource Centre.

According to the procedure circulated by the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, Migrant Resource Centre will be established at the local level of the district headquarters or on the premises of District Administration Office.

Similarly, Migrant Resource Sub-centre will be set up at the local level or in such a place as specified by the local level.

The functions, duties and powers of the centre and sub-centre are to provide information, counselling and other assistance related to safe foreign employment in coordination with the National Migrant Resource Centre; collect details of persons receiving services, make entry, process, analyse and update data related to foreign employment, provide informative materials to aspirant migrant workers, and disseminate information about requirements to be fulfilled to go for foreign employment.

Similarly, the centre and sub-centre provide information about the countries open for foreign employment, facilitate awareness programmes through media, mobilise facilitators and social mobilisers for providing information and services, provide psycho-social counselling to persons affected by foreign employment, provide legal aid and other support to migrant workers and their families, and submit its progress report to the local level concerned.

There will be a seven-member management committee led by chief or deputy chief of the local level concerned to systematise the performance of the centre or sub-centre established in the local unit.

The procedure empowers even non-government organisations, private sector, and development partners to establish and operate the centre or sub-centre.

For this, they will be required to submit an application to the National Migrant Resource Centre on the recommendation of the local level concerned. Monitoring of the centre and sub-centre will be carried out by the federal authorities. It will also require the centre and sub-centre to provide free service.

A version of this article appears in the print on March 17, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.