17/08/2021
(1) New Message!
×
(/)
When the coronavirus crept into Nepalis’ foreign job destinations, tens of thousands of workers, who struggled for their safety and to meet
basic needs for several months (https://www.ceslam.org/uploads/backup/research-paper-x-covid-19.pdf), were rendered jobless and suffered
pay cuts (https://kathmandupost.com/national/2020/05/18/without-work-and-salary-nepali-migrants-protest-in-covid-hit-uae).
Many had to return home empty-handed after their contracts were terminated or the companies refused to pay them.
Following a Supreme Court order to repatriate Nepali workers (https://kathmandupost.com/national/2020/06/17/supreme-court-ordersgovernment-to-use-welfare-fund-to-repatriate-nepali-workers-strandedabroad#:~:text=On%20May%2025%2C%20in%20order,should%20be%20borne%20by%20them.) free of cost, the government prepared a
directive (https://kathmandupost.com/national/2020/07/01/guidelines-ready-for-repatriation-of-migrant-workers-who-cannot-pay-fortheir-flights) to provide financial assistance to stranded migrant workers to buy tickets to return home.
The directive had also mandated the Nepali missions in labour destination countries to ensure that workers were paid their dues before they
boarded their flight.
However, a majority of workers who have returned home since the Covid-19 pandemic were not only unpaid but also uncompensated
(https://kathmandupost.com/national/2021/03/27/only-217-migrant-workers-availed-of-pandemic-repatriation-scheme)as they had bought
the tickets themselves (https://kathmandupost.com/national/2020/08/22/decision-after-decision-government-rubs-salt-into-workerswounds).
The hasty exit from labour destinations meant they had to leave behind everything. Migrant workers’ homecoming, which means they bring
back remittances and valuable luxury items for families back home (https://kathmandupost.com/national/2020/09/20/migrants-wouldreturn-home-with-money-and-gifts-now-it-is-just-themselves), turned into empty-handed showing up.
According to Ganga Sundas, information officer at the Department of Consular Services, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the office has
witnessed a rise of complaints from migrant workers about non-payment issues since the start of the pandemic.
“The number of more and more workers reaching out to the department with complaints that they were not paid their salaries and other
amounts,” Sundas told the Post. “Although we do not have the exact number of such complaints, their numbers have gone up significantly
since the pandemic.”
It’s not only that workers were denied their remunerations.
Many had to even return home even before the expiry of their job contracts for which they had invested tens of thousands of rupees often
taken at exorbitant interest rates. Such a sudden exit meant they would be burdened with debts
(https://kathmandupost.com/national/2021/01/19/migrant-workers-paid-hefty-sums-for-overseas-jobs-and-returned-now-they-arewaiting-for-compensation-for-their-losses).
As per Section 75 of the Foreign Employment Act, 2007 (http://ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex4.detail?
p_lang=en&p_isn=78258&p_country=NPL&p_count=120) when “workers have to be immediately brought back to Nepal due to a war,
epidemic, natural calamity in the country where such workers are engaged in employment, the Government of Nepal shall make arrangements
for the repatriation of such workers.”
Section 36 of the same law says, if any employer does not provide employment as per the terms prescribed in the agreement, the worker or his
or her representative may file a complaint at the Department of Foreign Employment, along with evidence for compensation. Upon inquiry,
the department can ask the recruiting agencies to compensate for all expenses incurred by workers while applying for foreign employment.
https://kathmandupost.com/national/2021/08/15/victims-of-wage-theft-migrant-nepalis-are-losing-hope-of-recovering-their-money?fbclid=IwAR3nj…
4/9