Kathmandu, June 21:

Minister of State for Labour and Transport Management, Ramesh Lekhak, today assured that the government will soon address the problems plaguing the foreign employment sector.

Speaking at an interaction organised by the Nepali Society-UAE (NS-UAE), he said that the government will soon sign labour accords with the UAE and Malaysia. He said, “UAE has shown interest in signing the agreement in the first week of July.”

Lekhak said that the government will not allow the workers to enter foreign countries until they have full insurance.

Meanwhile, LP Sawa Limbu, president of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA), said the government’s words cannot be relied on because it has done nothing in the foreign employment sector as of now.

Bharat Singh Thapa, former president of the NAFEA, said the Japan government scraped a

Memorandum of Understanding signed with Nepal due to faulty policies of Nepal and bureaucratic hassles. “The government is yet to sign a labour agreement with Malaysia, which was set for 2003.”

Thapa called on the government to regularly inspect foreign employment agencies because the brokers are sending migrant workers abroad. “This act does not only cheat the government, but also causes problems to the workers themselves.”

Rameshwor Shah, president of the NS-UAE, said that the Nepali embassy in the UAE lacks human resources. It has not been able to solve problems of the Nepalis working in the UAE. “The government should provide funds for the embassy in the UAE,” he said.

“As our organisation has not been registered, we have not been able to collect donations to hand over bodies of those who die in the UAE to their relatives in Nepal.”

The NS-UAE submitted copies of a 11-point memorandum to the Prime Minister, Minister for Finance, Minister for Foreign Affairs and State Minister for Labour and Transport Management. In the memorandum, the organisation has urged the government to create a conducive environment in Nepal so that Nepalis can work for the betterment of their country. Other demands include scientific labour agreement, a complete ban on illegal migration and easing of visa application procedure.