Kathmandu, June 4

Lawmaker Dila Sangraula registered a proposal of urgent public importance at the Secretariat of the Federal Parliament today, calling for a discussion on employment opportunity for youths within the country.

Lawmaker Sangraula, who represents the main opposition Nepali Congress in the Parliament, mentioned in the proposal that one of the key problems facing Nepal is lack of employment opportunity in the domestic market. “It the duty of the state to provide employment to unemployed youths within the country. But the government has not been successful in ensuring employment to tens of thousand of youths, forcing them to go abroad for employment,” the proposal read.

She also mentioned in the proposal that thousands of youths were deprived of going to Malaysia, one of the attractive destinations of employment, after the government withheld permit for the South-East Asian country.

“The move has curtailed their right to employment. Though the government inked a labour pact with Malaysia on October 29, aspirant youths are yet to be provided with permits for employment in the country,” proposal stated.

The proposal also mentioned that the government had failed to initiate action against manpower agencies that swindled thousands of youths.“Some manpower agencies have been collecting up to Rs 2,00,000 each, from youths aspiring for foreign employment.

However, they issue a receipt of only Rs 10,000 to the youths for the amount. Such fraudulent manpower agencies have not been brought to book,” the proposal read.

Lawmaker Sangraula mentioned in the proposal that over 77,000 Nepali youth had left for Malaysia in eight months of the last year, compared to less than 3,000 during the corresponding period, this year. “This is a serious issue and required a discussion in the lower house to ensure that no Nepali is deprived of his/her right to employment and mobility,” she said.

Nepali youths are being cheated by manpower agencies and agents in the name of health check-up, orientation and other pretexts due to lack of transparency in the labour hiring process.

The government has completely failed to control the conspiracy of Malaysian and Nepali middlemen while selecting an institution for issuance of medical clearance certificate to the foreign employment aspirants, according to the proposal.

The proposal also stressed the need to orient the Nepali youths about security and safety issues regarding work environment in Malaysia, before sending them abroad.

Citing statistics of Foreign Employment Board, it said that 194 Nepalis were killed and 67 others seriously injured in Malaysia, in the past one year. Lawmakers Ram Bahadur Bista and Dev Prasad Timilsina are seconders of the proposal.