There is a dispute between the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the manpower agencies over the ‘Free visa, free ticket’ provision enacted by the ministry to ease the problems faced by the Nepali migrant workers in the Middle East and Malaysia. The programme introduced by the ministry is praiseworthy as it can at least address the financial burden the overseas workers had to bear for the last several years. The manpower agencies had been collecting hefty amounts of money from the migrant labourers without actually doing anything substantive to help them find jobs in foreign countries. They were cheating the poor Nepalis who had to pay them huge amounts of money as service charge. Hats off to Minister of State Tek Bahadur Gurung, who broke this chain of exploitation by the manpower agencies. I find the manpower agencies’ call for scrapping the “free visa, free ticket” totally nonsense. As per the understanding reached between Nepal and seven countries who hire Nepali labourers, the concerned companies are required to give them free visa and ticket. The manpower agencies may sometimes create disturbance. But their agitation will not get public support, and it will subside soon. The government must arrange the free visa and ticket for the labourers on its own until the manpower agencies fall in line to apply the government decision. Nobody should be allowed to disobey the right decision of the government that will benefit thousands of migrant workers.

Manish Paudel, Kathmandu

Suggestions

The Constituent Assembly provided only two days for the people to give their feedback on the draft constitution. However, a large number of people gave their important and valuable suggestions to the CA members in their respective constituencies on July 20 and 21. It was an overwhelming response from the public about the contents of the draft constitution in which they found many anomalies and inconsistencies when it came to institutionalizing the achievements of the past movements. Although some Madhes-centric parties and other groups disrupted the programmes collecting the people’s feedback the campaign was by and large a great success. It would have been more effective and people would have come in even greater numbers to offer their suggestions on the contents of the draft constitution had the CA provided more time, at least a week, for the feedback.

Now that the national campaign is over, the job of the CA is to analyse the suggestions given by the people and to incorporate them in the appropriate places of the new constitution. The suggestions given by the people can in no way be thrown into the dustbin. If their suggestions are not properly given space in the new constitution the people will feel that they were cheated by the CA and the major political parties which have to go to the people time and again. Some of the suggestions given by the public are genuine and need to be included in the final draft of the constitution.

Homnath Aryal,Tansen