To request resumption of hiring domestic help

Kathmandu, January 15:

A high level delegation led by Shyam Prasad Mainali, secretary at Ministry of Labour and Transport Management (MoLT-M), is leaving for Israel on an inspection-cum-study visit.

The team is scheduled to interact with Israeli foreign and labour authorities for the resumption of hiring Nepali workers, particularly women domestic help and caregivers. Israel stopped hiring the workers from Nepal since May 1 last year, citing absence of Nepali embassy and lack of bilateral labour agreement between the two friendly countries. The Ne-pali team comprising of officials from the labour and foreign ministries and foreign employment agencies will also interact with Israeli employers to further expand and explore employment opportunities there.

“We will request the Israel government to resume hiring Nepali workers, as Nepal has already opened its embassy in Tel Aviv,” said Mainali, adding that necessary initiatives will also be taken for a bilateral agreement. Israel has become a lucrative and popular foreign employment destination, particularly for women caregivers and domestic help as well as agricultural workers in recent years. Before putting temporary ban on Nepali workers, the Israeli employers are understood to have complained about language and job skill proficiency of Nepali labourers.

Although Israel imports very limited number of labourers from Nepal, jobs there are relatively better paid and is considered to be a safe destination for women migrant workers. It is estimated that more than 7,000 Nepalis are currently working in Israel and over 90 per cent of them are women.