Monday, January 21, 2019

Government opens Malaysian job 'partially'

The government has opened the Malaysian job albeit partially.
The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security has decided to issue labour permits to the Malaysia-bound Nepali migrant workers, provided that the Embassy of Malaysian in Kathmandu directly issues visas to them.
The Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) – after the ministry's directive – today issued labour permits to 20 workers, who had directly approached the embassy for working visas. The embassy informed the department – in a letter on January 18 – that visas had been granted to the workers, who would be working with a tunnel company in Malaysia. Though departure of these workers does not mean that the government has resumed sending workers to Malaysia, government said that it will not have any problem issuing labour permits to the concerned workers, if the embassy oversees their pre-departure process and grants visas.
The ministry had sent the department a list of workers, who had been granted visas. The work permits has been issued based on the ministry’s decision, the letter from the embassy and the application of the employer company. 
The batch of 20 workers, who obtained labour permits and subsequently left for Malaysia, is the first group of Nepali workers to reach Malaysia since both countries signed a labour deal on October 29, 2018.
Recruiting agencies have also been demanding the government to make arrangements for departures of those workers with calling visas issued by the Malaysian authorities. 
According to Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies, nearly 9,000 workers had obtained calling visas from the Malaysian government before the government suspended labour migration to Malaysia.
The labour department today asked all recruiting agencies to submit exact details and documents of the people – who have already received ‘calling visas’ from Malaysia –within 15 days to cross check the number of Nepalis, who have received calling visa. Calling visas are confirmations from their employers about the job.
The outsourcers have, however criticising the government for issuing labour permits to only 20 workers – out of nearly 9,000 with calling visas – who had directly applied for working visas at the embassy, would not submit the details of the workers.
The association has said – issuing a statement – that the recruiting agencies have already submitted these details to the Foreign Employment Office, Tahachal.
Last May, the government had temporarily halted sending labourers to Malaysia as workers were said to be charged unnecessary fees for related services by private companies, namely Immigration Security Clearance and One Stop Centre. The departure of Nepali migrant workers has been stopped in the absence of the mechanism to implement the deal even though it has been more than two months since Nepal and Malaysia signed the labour agreement.
The leaders from various political parties – including Nepali Congress and Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal – had urged the Federal Parliament to resume the halted migration process to Malaysia at the earliest as the overnment has still not lifted the temporary ban on Nepali workers from flying to the Southeast Asian nation.
On the other hand, Malaysian government had on January 7 said that it will finalise all preparations to hire foreign migrant workers within two months.

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