Nepal has been accused for failing to address rampant deception and extortion in the labour recruitment business, putting migrant workers at risk of forced labour abroad and leaving them with crippling debts.
"Unscrupulous recruiters are getting away with destroying lives – all over Nepal – illegally charging aspiring job-seekers exorbitant fees to get jobs abroad, and then abandoning them overseas when things go wrong," deputy director of Amnesty International's (AI) Global Issues programme James Lynch said, speaking at the launch of a new report 'Turning People into Profits: Abusive Recruitment, Trafficking and Forced Labour of Nepali Migrant Workers,' in Kathmandu today.
He also added that it is only when they leave Nepal that migrant workers find out that they have been deceived about everything from salary to working conditions. "By then it is far too late and many end up with debts that may take the rest of their working lives to pay off."
"Migrant workers contribute equal to a third of Nepal's GDP in money they send back home, yet the government spends a tiny fraction of its budget on their needs," he added.
The government has taken some positive steps including 'Free Visa, Free Ticket' policy from July 2015, towards tackling abuse suffered by workers.
It was supposed to limit the amount that recruitment agents and agencies can charge workers, by requiring foreign employers to pay for airline tickets and visa processing costs, and lowering what recruitment agencies can charge workers in service fees to Rs 10,000 ($96).
"Despite some bright ideas lack of political will combined with bureaucratic inertia means businesses are still effectively free to exploit migrants," Lynch said, "It is abundantly clear the Free Visa, Free Ticket policy is not being implemented or enforced properly."
"Unscrupulous recruiters are getting away with destroying lives – all over Nepal – illegally charging aspiring job-seekers exorbitant fees to get jobs abroad, and then abandoning them overseas when things go wrong," deputy director of Amnesty International's (AI) Global Issues programme James Lynch said, speaking at the launch of a new report 'Turning People into Profits: Abusive Recruitment, Trafficking and Forced Labour of Nepali Migrant Workers,' in Kathmandu today.
He also added that it is only when they leave Nepal that migrant workers find out that they have been deceived about everything from salary to working conditions. "By then it is far too late and many end up with debts that may take the rest of their working lives to pay off."
"Migrant workers contribute equal to a third of Nepal's GDP in money they send back home, yet the government spends a tiny fraction of its budget on their needs," he added.
The government has taken some positive steps including 'Free Visa, Free Ticket' policy from July 2015, towards tackling abuse suffered by workers.
It was supposed to limit the amount that recruitment agents and agencies can charge workers, by requiring foreign employers to pay for airline tickets and visa processing costs, and lowering what recruitment agencies can charge workers in service fees to Rs 10,000 ($96).
"Despite some bright ideas lack of political will combined with bureaucratic inertia means businesses are still effectively free to exploit migrants," Lynch said, "It is abundantly clear the Free Visa, Free Ticket policy is not being implemented or enforced properly."
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