Friday, September 28, 2018

Malaysian employer to bear all costs of Nepali migrants

Nepal and Malaysia today agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that will relieve Nepali workers from paying fees for jobs in Malaysia. "The Malaysian employment companies will bear all the necessary expenses of Nepali migrant workers now," according to the Nepali embassy in Malaysia. "The agreement will be the first such deal between the two countries in 14 years after Malaysia opened its doors to Nepali migrant workers."
The meeting between the officials of both countries at Malaysia’s Ministry of Human Resources in Putrajaya today will not only be the first such formal agreement, but the document will also resume the labour migration of Nepali workers to Malaysia which has been disrupted since mid-May, according to acting Nepali ambassador to Malaysia Kumar Raj Kharel. "Nepal had previously pushed for such understanding in 2009, 2010 and 2013," he said, adding that Malaysia had shared a draft of the labour agreement in August, following Nepal’s suspension of the departure of Nepali workers to Malaysia.
Kharel said the agreement – that includes the provision like 24-hour insurance security for the workers, payment for a two-way ticket by the employer, and compensation to workers and their families in case of accidents – will be signed by ministers of both countries.
Likewise, Nepal has also proposed an annual review of the workers’ salary, he added.
A three member Nepali delegation – led by joint secretary at the Labour Ministry Krishna Gyawali, chief of South East Asia Division of Foreign Ministry Tapas Adhikari and joint secretary at the Law Ministry Kabindra Gautam – had left for Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday to hold discussions and finalise the MoU on a bilateral labour agreement between the two countries.
According to the Malaysian Immigration Department, it hosts a total of 385,000 documented Nepali workers currently, making Nepal the second largest supplier of foreign labour force.

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