MoLE to review foreign employment laws

Kathmandu, March 20

The government has formed a panel to review the Foreign Employment Act, 2007, and Foreign Employment Rules, 2008, in a bid to make the laws more contextual as the dynamics of foreign employment are changing rapidly.

After the preparation of review draft, Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) will submit it to the parliament after completing procedural stipulations from the Cabinet. MoLE has said it is now necessary to amend existing laws to cover a wider range of issues concerning foreign employment.

MoLE has formed a committee led by its Joint Secretary Surya Prasad Shrestha and comprising executive director of Foreign Employment Promotion Board, director general of Department of Foreign Employment, joint secretary of legal division of MoLE and a representative each from Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies, and from the association of returnee migrant workers, informed Bishnu Lamsal, secretary at MoLE.

MoLE has also expedited the process to sign labour agreements with various countries to reform the foreign employment sector. Labour agreements with Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan and Malaysia are in the process of being signed. Government has exchanged draft of agreements with Saudi Arabia and Malaysia and is preparing to exchange drafts with Lebanon and Jordan.

Besides that, government has signed labour agreements with Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, South Korea, Israel and Japan.

Recently, government stopped issuing pre-approval for demands that do not offer free visa and free ticket for workers, especially in Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Malaysia. Manpower agencies have been authorised to charge Rs 10,000 as service fees from foreign job seekers excluding health check-up and insurance fees.