Kathmandu, November 25:

The government should come up with steps to utiltise the skills of migrant workers and work for their welfare and rights, said speakers at the programme “Indigenous Nationalities: Situation, Challenges and Opportunities of Foreign Employment”, organised by National Federation of Indigenous Nationalities. Nirmal Gurung, president of the Association of Foreign Employment Entrepreneurs, said, “The contribution of indigenous nationalities to national economy through remittances should be acknowledged, while investments on the returnees who have learned their crafts in other countries is also very important.” He said that despite the killings of 12 Nepalis in Iraq, there are more than 15,000 Nepalis still working in the Gulf country, each earning between $1,200 and $1,800 a month. Hence the government should not forget these workers, he said. “Government’s policy, challenges and problems: Indigenous Nationalities and Foreign Employment”, Dipendra Birkam Thapa, secretary at Ministry of Labour and Transport Management, said 85 per cent of the migrant workers are unskilled labourers and the majority of them are indigenous nationalities.