Nepal, Germany sign labour agreement

Nepal and Germany today signed a joint declaration of intent (DoI) on Skilled Labour Migration and Knowledge Exchange.

During the signing ceremony at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of Germany, minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security Sharat Singh Bhandari and State Secretary (Deputy Minister) of Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of Germany Leonie Gebers were present, according to a press note issued by the Embassy of Nepal in Berlin, Germany.

Nepal's ambassador to Gremany Ram Kaji Khadka and director at the lnternational Affairs, German Federal Employment Agency Michael van der Cammen signed the JDol, on behalf of their respective governments in the presence of Nepal's visiting delegation led by the minister Bhandari.

The signing of the JDol was preceded by a bilateral meeting between the high-level Nepali delegation led by minister Bhandari and the high-level German delegation led by State Secretary (Deputy Minister).

On the occasion, the leaders of two delegations shared views, primarily, on the agenda of Nepal-Germany bilateral relations, skilled labour migration, Nepal's commitment to legal migration, workers' welfare and social security, German language and vocational training, and circular migration.

During the meeting, the two leaders expressed happiness over the growing relations between the two countries in recent years and stated that the signing of the JDol would be the first step in the roadmap towards fair and legal labour migration from Nepal to Germany. 

Bhandari, on the occasion, also expressed Nepal's willingness to collaborate with the friendly Government of Germany in all sectors of mutual benefits.

Likewise, Gebers also stated that the signing of the JDol would open the way forward for institutional arrangement in immigrating Nepali skilled workers as per the need of the German job market. She also highlighted the positive sides of the recent German Skilled lmmigration Act which has eased the process of recruiting foreign skilled workers in Germany.

The Nepali delegation being led by the minister included secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security Kewal Prasad Bhandari, ambassador of Nepal to Germany Ram Kaji Khadka, and other officials from the Labour Ministry, Foreign Ministry and Embassy of Nepal in Berlin.

The German delegation led by Gebers included the high-level officials from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Federal Employment Agency and other relevant Departments of Germany.

Likewise, the Nepali delegation yesterday held discussions with the delegation of lnternational Labour Organisation (lLO) Berlin Bureau led by Dr Annette Niederfranke, Director at the Embassy of Nepal in Berlin.

During the meeting, various labour related issues including welfare of workers, measures against the exploitation and trafficking of workers, inclusive foreign employment and reintegration of migrant workers in the county of origin were discussed. ln the afternoon, the Nepali delegation participated in an interaction programme with the Nepali diaspora living in Germany organised by the Embassy.

The Nepali delegation is holding a meeting with the representatives of private sectors of Germany on Wednesday (tomorrow), and the visiting delegation is scheduled to leave Germany for Nepal on Thursday.

Nepal Labour Migration Report 2022 launched on International Migrants Day

Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, International Organisation for Migration (IOM), International Labour Organisation (ILO), and Safer Migration Programme (SaMI) jointly launched the ‘Nepal Labour Migration Report 2022’ on International Migrants Day today.

The report encapsulates the major trends and activities in the country’s labour migration sector covering the period between 2019-2020 and 2021-2022, which follows the efforts of the ministry to periodically present a comprehensive overview of labour migration in Nepal, according to a press note issued by the IOM.

According to the report, the ministry has adopted and implemented a range of policies and legal instruments to address labour migration related issues in the country such as shifting labour migration related services to online system, adopting new directives and procedures for the reintegration of returnee migrant workers, as well as significant modification on immigration policies especially aiming the migrants in major countries of destination. Despite this progress, Nepali migrant workers’ health and safety issues as well as cases of fraud, abuse and exploitation continue to occur in unignorable numbers, it reads.

The report also stresses the importance of ‘informed migration’, awareness, sensitisation, and the need for implementing country specific pre-departure orientation as well as post-arrival orientation for migrants.

Likewise, the report appeals to support the government’s efforts to ensure fair and ethical recruitment, including the implementation of the ‘employer pays’ principle, which means the costs of recruitment should be borne by the employer not by the worker.

Labour Migration has been a common livelihood strategy for Nepalese households over the recent decades. According to the World Bank, remittances contributed equal to some 24 per cent of the country’s GDP in the year 2021.

Addressing the event in capacity of the chief guest minister for labour, employment and social security Sher Bahadur Kunwar extended his best wishes to all the migrants on the occasion of the International Migrants Day, and wished for an environment where all labour migrants can be proud of their work and be able to be united for their rights.

“The report will be a useful resource for everyone for it has covered every aspect of migration including its shifting dynamics,” he said. 

“I am glad that we have been able to continue to join hands with the government and other key stakeholders in presenting such report covering every aspects of the labour migration sector in Nepal, which I believe will eventually contribute to strengthening labour migration governance and ensuring safe, orderly and dignified labour migration in Nepal, envisioned by the Sustainable Development Goals and the Global Compact for Migration (GCM),” said IOM Nepal chief of Mission Lorena Lando, after the report launch.

“Introducing the report on this day dedicated to all migrants across the world, we are contributing to our objectives of humanizing mobility to contribute to social cohesion and reduce negative perceptions about migrants”, she added.

“The foundation of effective policy formulation and implementation is robust research and social dialogue,” said officer-in-charge for ILO Nepal Fredy Guayacan, Congratulating the ministry on the report launch.

“We are honoured to have continued our support for this extremely important work since 2014, which we believe is essential not only to enhance our understanding of the key trends and issues related to labour migration in Nepal but also to reflect on each of our roles in ensuring labour migration governance respects the rights of migrant workers and their families,” he added.

The IOM, ILO and Sami had supported the government in developing the report.

Representatives from various other government agencies, civil society, development partners, academia, researchers, the United Nations, and other national and international organizations were among the attendees of the event.

Every year on December 18, the world celebrates International Migrants Day to mark the anniversary of the adoption of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families by the United Nations General Assembly in 1990. In Nepal, under the leadership of the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, the country is marked the Day under the theme of ‘skills, capital, and knowledge gained from foreign employment: entrepreneurship, employment and national dignity’.

Over 4 billion people still lack social protection: ILO

Despite the unprecedented worldwide expansion of social protection during the Covid-19 crisis, more than four billion people around the world remain entirely unprotected, according to a new International Labour Organisation (ILO) report.

According to the report, the pandemic response was uneven and insufficient, deepening gap between countries with high and low income levels and failing to afford the muchneeded social protection that all human beings deserve. Social protection includes access to health care and income security, particularly in relation to old age, unemployment, sickness, disability, work injury, maternity or loss of a main income earner, as well as for families with children.

"Countries are at a crossroads," ILO director-general Guy Ryder said, adding that it is a pivotal moment to harness the pandemic response to build a new generation of rightsbased social protection systems. "These can cushion people from future crises and give workers and businesses the security to tackle the multiple transitions ahead with confidence and with hope."

"We must recognise that effective and comprehensive social protection is not just essential for social justice and decent work but for creating a sustainable and resilient future too," he added.

"The World Social Protection Report 2020-22: Social protection at the crossroads - in pursuit of a better future' gives a global overview of recent developments in social protection systems, including social protection floors, and covers the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The report identifies protection gaps and sets out key policy recommendations, including in relation to the targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Currently, only 47 per cent of the global population are effectively covered by at least one social protection benefit, while 4.1 billion people (some 53 per cent) obtain no income security at all from their national social protection system.

There are significant regional inequalities in social protection.Europe and Central Asia have the highest rates of coverage, with 84 per cent of people being covered by at least one benefit. The Americas are also above the global average, with 64.3 per cent. Likewise, Asia and the Pacific (44 per cent), the Arab States (40 per cent) and Africa (17.4 per cent) have marked coverage gaps.

Worldwide, the vast majority of children still have no effective social protection coverage - only one in four children (26.4 per cent) receives a social protection benefit. Only 45 per cent of women with newborns worldwide receive a cash maternity benefit, the report reads, adding that only one in three persons with severe disabilities (33.5 per cent) worldwide receives a disability benefit. "Coverage of unemployment benefits is even lower; only 18.6 per cent of unemployed workers worldwide are effectively covered."

And while 77.5 per cent of people above retirement age receive some form of old-age pension, major disparities remain across regions, between rural and urban areas, and between women and men, it adds.

Government spending on social protection also varies significantly. On average, countries spend 12.8 per cent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on social protection (excluding health), however high-income countries spend 16.4 per cent and low-income countries only 1.1 per cent of their GDP on social protection.

The report says that the financing gap -- the additional spending required to ensure at least minimum social protection for all -- has increased by approximately 30 per cent since the start of the Covid-19 crisis.

To guarantee at least basic social protection coverage, low-income countries would need to invest an additional $77.9 billion per year, lower-middle-income countries an additional $362.9 billion per year and upper-middle-income countries a further $750.8 billion per year, the report reads, adding that its equivalent to 15.9 per cent, 5.1  per cent and 3.1 per cent of their GDP, respectively.

"There is an enormous push for countries to move to fiscal consolidation, after the massive public expenditure of their crisis response measures, but it would be seriously damaging to cut back on social protection; investment is required here and now," director of ILO Social Protection Department Shahra Razavi said, adding that social protection is an important tool that can create wide-ranging social and economic benefits for countries at all levels of development. "It can underpin better health and education, greater equality, more sustainable economic systems, better managed migration and the observance of core rights."

Building the systems that can deliver these positive outcomes will require a mix of financing sources and greater international solidarity, particularly with support for poorer countries but the benefits of success will reach beyond national borders to benefit us all," she added.

Specific measures to promote universal social protection were highlighted in the 'Global Call to Action for a human-centred recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic'.

The call to action, which outlines a comprehensive agenda for recovery, was endorsed unanimously in June 2021 by the ILO's member states, representing governments, workers' and employers' organisations.

Digital labour platforms offer young refugees a possible route to decent work

The digital economy can provide job opportunities for many young refugees but ensuring decent working conditions will require new directions in thinking and action, says a new International Labour Organisation (ILO) today.

The report, 'Towards decent work for young refugees and host communities in the digital platform economy in Africa: Kenya, Uganda, Egypt', finds that digital gig work has the potential to generate income for refugees. Since they often struggle to enter local labour markets, refugees may turn to prominent digital platforms such as Jumia or Upwork in the absence of local livelihood opportunities.

But there are two major concerns relating to refugee’s work on digital platforms; decent work deficits and a lack of connectivity. Kenya, Uganda and Egypt, the three countries studied in the report, have all invested heavily in the digital economy and adopted national strategies for increasing digital access. Yet in 2020 only 22.5 per cent of the Kenyan population was using the internet, compared with 57 per cent in Egypt and 24 per cent in Uganda.

Globally, while 93 per cent of refugees are covered by at least a 2G network, they are 50 per cent less likely than the general population to have an internet-enabled phone. For refugee youth, the access is even more limited.

Other significant challenges include difficulties obtaining work permits, unreliable electricity supply and internet connection, a lack of access to suitable hardware and software or access to digital payment mechanisms.

"The unequal spread of internet connectivity, inequalities in digital skills and digital literacy, alongside the specific obstacles that many refugee populations face in accessing digital economies and decent digital work make it difficult to apply for these jobs,” said the author of the report Andreas Hackl. “Without coordinated action, the digital economy can reinforce the deeply rooted social and economic inequalities that govern the young refugees’ lives.”

Initiatives are in place to facilitate refugees' access to the digital economy. Intermediary organisation like social impact labour platforms offer to redistribute work opportunities to refugees and negotiate fees and conditions with the platforms on their behalf.

Examples of digital skills training, such as coding academies, boot camps and digital technical and vocational education and training (TVET), have been established in Kakuma camp in Kenya, the Bidi Bidi settlement in Uganda and the large refugee-hosting cities in Egypt, such as Cairo.

The report recommends to promote digital jobs amongst young refugees including improve refugees’ access to the internet and to its economic and employment related dimensions. "The deepen efforts to build a variety of digital skills among refugees that increase their employability in a digitised future of work, while working with relevant employers and economic sectors to match skills with demands through stronger employment service institutions that cater to refugee populations," it recommends, adding that support existing remote employers of refugees with financial and technical assistance - including social enterprises and social impact work platforms – and promote formalisation strategies so as to achieve better payment and working conditions for their employees or self-employed workers. "Improve social dialogue related to digital labour, which is virtually absent in refugee hosting situations, through the access of workers’ and employers’ organisations to workers in refugee camps." 

The report also recommends to specifically address barriers and obstacles to digital livelihoods posed by legal and political refugee regimes through high-level advocacy and policy support.

Covid-19 drives wages down, new ILO report finds

 A new report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has revealed that monthly wages fell or grew more slowly in the first six months of 2020, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, in two-thirds of countries for which official data was available, and that the crisis is likely to inflict massive downward pressure on wages in the near future.

The wages of women and low-paid workers have been disproportionately affected by the crisis, it reads.  

Furthermore, while average wages in one-third of the countries that provided data appeared to increase, this was largely as a result of substantial numbers of lower-paid workers losing their jobs and therefore skewing the average, since they were no longer included in the data for wage-earners. In countries where strong measures were taken to preserve employment, the effects of the crisis were felt primarily as falls in wages rather than massive job losses, the report reads.

The Global Wage Report 2020-21 also reveals that not all workers have been equally affected by the crisis. “The impact on women has been worse than on men,” it reads, adding that estimates based on a sample of 28 European countries find that, without wage subsidies, women would have lost 8.1 per cent of their wages in the second quarter of 2020, compared to 5.4 per cent for men. “The crisis has also affected lower-paid workers severely as those in lower-skilled occupations lost more working hours than higher-paying managerial and professional jobs.”

Using data from the group of 28 European countries the report shows that, without temporary subsidies, the lowest paid 50 per cent of workers would have lost an estimated 17.3 per cent of their wages. Without subsidies, the average amount of wages lost across all groups would have been 6.5 per cent. However, wage subsidies compensated for 40 per cent of this amount.

“The growth in inequality created by the Covid-19 crisis threatens a legacy of poverty and social and economic instability that would be devastating,” said ILO director-general Guy Ryder. “Our recovery strategy must be human-centred,” he said, adding that they need adequate wage policies that take into account the sustainability of jobs and enterprises, and also address inequalities and the need to sustain demand. “If we are going to build a better future we must also deal with some uncomfortable questions about why jobs with high social value, like carers and teachers, are very often linked to low pay.”

The report also includes an analysis of minimum wage systems, which could play an important role in building a recovery that is sustainable and equitable. Minimum wages are currently in place in some form in 90 per cent of ILO member states including Nepal. But even before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic the report finds that, globally, 266 million people – some 15 per cent of all wage earners worldwide – were earning less than the hourly minimum wage, either because of non-compliance or because they were legally excluded from such schemes. “Women are over-represented among workers earning the minimum wage or less,” the report reads.

“Adequate minimum wages can protect workers against low pay and reduce inequality,” said one of the authors of the report Rosalia Vazquez-Alvarez. “But ensuring that minimum wage policies are effective requires a comprehensive and inclusive package of measures,” she said, adding that it means better compliance, extending coverage to more workers, and setting minimum wages at an adequate, up-to-date level that allows people to build a better life for themselves and their families. “In developing and emerging countries, better compliance will require moving people away from informal work and into the formal sector.”

The Global Wage Report 2020-21 also looks at wage trends in 136 countries in the four years preceding the pandemic. It found that global real wage growth fluctuated between 1.6 per cent and 2.2 per cent. Real wages increased most rapidly in Asia and the Pacific and Eastern Europe and much more slowly in North America and northern, southern and western Europe.

Asia-Pacific countries endorse action plan to strengthen social protection

 Countries in the Asia-Pacific region have today endorsed an action plan pledging to collectively step up regional cooperation for social protection – a timely move as governments are striving to protect people from unprecedented economic and social development setbacks wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The action plan was endorsed at the sixth session of the Committee on Social Development, hosted by the United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) this week. It serves as an overarching framework for action at the national level and develops a regional platform to strengthen knowledge and capacity for broadening effective social protection coverage.

“To counter the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, many member states have strengthened existing social protection schemes and sometimes introduced new, ad hoc measures,” said UN under-secretary-general and ESCAP executive secretary Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana in her opening remarks. “In times of socio-economic crisis, social protection is our society’s primary line of defence,” she said, underscoring that they need to invest in comprehensive social protection systems and to monitor our progress in achieving relevant targets of the 2030 agenda to ensure an inclusive, resilient, and prosperous Asia-Pacific.

The regional action plan on social protection provides countries with a shared vision, strategy and platform for promoting partnership, peer learning as well as identifying needs for technical assistance. The plan further aims to accelerate implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by including those at risk of being left behind.

“As we continue to tread unknown and uncertain grounds, the committee provided an opportunity to forge ways to strengthen social protection as a key instrument for building resilience,” Ambassador of Sri Lanka Samantha K Jayasuriya, who served as the chair of the sixth session, said, adding that the region is facing unprecedented demographic shifts, which has resulted in profound impact on sustainable development. “In addition, Covid-19 has affected all population groups in the region, with those in vulnerable situations at particular risk of being impacted such as older persons, women, persons with disabilities and migrants.”

“This vulnerability is not inevitable,” she added.

The committee also endorsed an indicator framework for monitoring progress towards the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the Asian and Pacific Ministerial Declaration on Population and Development. Adoption of the framework means that the progress toward these commitments will now be measurable.

Both commitments address fundamental inequalities in access to health, education, and social protection, emphasise the value of investing in women and girls and strengthen access to sexual and reproductive health. The indicator framework can be used for voluntary national reviews (VNRs) and supports governments in designing specific policies that will eventually reduce inequalities in access to health, education and social protection.

Levels of social protection coverage remain strikingly low in Asia and the Pacific, with just over half the population having no access to any social protection scheme. Insufficient investments in social protection has proven a persistent reason for these gaps. The pandemic has further perpetuated pre-existing inequalities, including gender inequalities.

The committee’s thematic focus on social protection follows the launch of ESCAP and ILO’s Social Outlook for Asia and the Pacific 2020: The Protection We Want last week. The Outlook is the first-ever regional report on social protection in Asia and the Pacific, which evidences that well-managed social protection systems have been far better equipped to respond to the unexpected and shielding the most vulnerable.

Diaspora scholars Insisted Nepal to ensure safe, orderly, and regular labour migration

 Nepali Diaspora researchers, academics and practitioners highlighted that Nepal has to utilise the Covid-19 Pandemic as an opportunity to review its existing migration policies, implementation and prepare a new roadmap for future migration speaking in a virtual dialogue today. 

The virtual policy dialogue – organised by Center for Diplomacy and Development (CDD), Nepal Institute of International Cooperation and Engagement (NIICE), Nepal Policy Institute (NPI) and Nepalese Migrants Unity Network (NeMUN) on ‘Rethinking Migration: Need of the hour’ – concluded that Nepal’s should take stern action to ensure the outmigration is safe, orderly and regular, which is the main essence of the Global Compact for Migration (GCM). GCM is the first-ever UN global agreement on a common approach to international migration in all its dimensions, which Nepal has also signed in 2019 along with other 164 countries.

Giving the welcoming remark at the virtual event, CDD founder president and former ambassador to France Mohan Krishna Shrestha emphasised that protection of migrant workers’ rights can be ensured only when the government rules and regulation are strongly implemented by the recruitment agencies in Nepal and the state makes the foreign employers accountable to protect the rights of the migrant workers.

Addressing the webinar, Foreign Employment Board (FEB) executive director Rajan Prasad Shrestha opined that to protect the Nepali workers national and international efforts should be made. He underscored the role of diaspora organisations such as NPI to advice the migration stakeholders of Nepal on future planning and policies. Shrestha also informed that the government has the policy to attract the returnee migrants in the agricultural field and they will be also mobilised in the other development sectors of the country utilising the skill and experiences they have gained abroad.

Presenting at the webinar, the chairperson of NPI Khagendra Dhakal emphasised that Migration should be a choice of Nepalis but not a forced decision for survival. 

NPI – an international think-tank initiated by the Nepali diaspora two years ago and migration has been one of the core areas of its focus – chair Dhakal pointed that all migration stakeholders should take migration as a positive tool of development for the home and host country both but how home countries can be successful in benefiting from the migration depends on the countries’ national strategies. “However, countries like Nepal have failed to link the labour migration to the development to date in most of the cases, which is what should be the future debate,” Dhakal said, adding that Nepali migrant workers have been abused and exploited in each and every stage of the migration cycle from the recruiting to the returning stage and the main cause of such exploitation is due to lack of awareness about foreign employment processes.

Referring to the recent research conducted by NPI, Dhakal said that some 70 per cent of the returnee migrants are completely unaware of what programmes the government has planned for them in their own country. He also questioned how helpless they could be when they are in a foreign land where they can’t even under the local language.

For the future policy and planning, Dhakal, who is also an Adjunct Professor at King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thailand, advised that Nepal should adopt the ‘whole of government’ approach to tackle migration for which skilling, reskilling, and upskilling, “These programmes should be conducted in collaboration with employer and host countries governments using effective labour diplomacy,” he said, suggesting the government on prioritising SDG4 and GCM Objectives 18 to ensure the safe migration and decent work for all Nepali labor migrant workers. “While conducting skill development programmes, Nepal needs to conduct market research and create intellectual debates to understand the changing trend of skills demand in the international labour market.”

Seconding Dhakal, another migration expert based in North Africa Meena Poudel said that migration is a natural process, but the exploitations are basically caused by the unethical recruitment process adopted by local recruitment agencies and foreign employer companies. “Cartels of labour migration stakeholders is the major cause for Nepali migrant workers exploitation which government has not been and is not willing to dig in in true sense,” he said, advising the government to consider the migration governance as a priority for the future migration policy planning to ensure labor migration is humane and orderly.

Ramzan Babu Ali Miya from Qatar and Sapana Basyal from Malaysia also shared their experiences of working with migrant labourers in their respective countries for the past several years. They shared the fragile conditions of Nepali migrant workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Both of them are actively engaged with the migrant workers’ rights protection for many years in those countries. They urged the government to protect their nationals’ rights even when they are abroad to run their family’s daily lives back home in Nepal. The migrant workers are contributors to Nepal’s economy and the government should put them in the social protection framework even they are undocumented, they advised.

Summing up the policy dialogue, Jeevan Sharma associated with the University of Edinburgh, said that migration will go on despite of pandemic and other challenges through the type of jobs and destinations may change. Sharma, a migration researcher currently based in the UK, also pointed out that Nepal has realised migration in terms of financial remittance only, but a country can get much more than that from migrant labourers with effective strategies. He highlighted a consent point of all experts that migrant workers return and go back to their village and do agricultural work is an old assumption. Until and unless the basic needs are supplied in the village and the agricultural system has been transformed with the use of technology, the country may fail to attract returnees to the rural villages for agricultural work.

Sharma expressed his surprise that the government makes promises to create more employment in the country to discourage the labour migration in one hand and it is signing agreements with different countries. “This makes it harder for the public to understand what the government’s direction towards migration is actually,” questioned Sharma.

Participants of the dialogue questioned the government on the indicators of the implementation of the plans and programmes. They echoed that without effective implementation and monitoring mechanism programs on paper cannot result in the desired outcome.

The programme was moderated by the NPI executive board member Sharu Joshi, who is also a migrant expert with her intensive experience with government and UN system for the past decade. “Covid-19 has surfaced the problems of migrant workers that the public also have been realising slowly and the dialogue involving diaspora scholars’ actioners and Nepal based migration expert is just timely to chart out the future policies of migration for Nepal, she said, advising the government to create open debates and utilise diaspora intellectual resources for the informed policies of Nepal including migration. “The synergy between the diaspora scholars and Nepal based scholars could contribute significantly to achieve the national goals.”

The programme was attended by officials from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Nepali Academics from different universities from Nepal, Policy Research Institute, Association of Nepalis in the Americas, government, former ambassadors, migrant organisations representatives, diaspora academics and practitioners from North America, Europe, Middle East, Asia-Pacific Region.

Developing countries should invest $1.2 trillion to guarantee basic social protection

 Developing countries should invest approximately $1.2 trillion – on average 3.8 per cent of their GDP – to guarantee at least basic income security and access to essential health care for all in 2020 alone, according to a new ILO policy brief.

Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic the social protection financing gap has increased by approximately 30 per cent according to financing gaps in social protection: Global estimate and strategies for developing countries in light of the COVID-19 crisis and beyond. This is the result of the increased need for health-care services and income security for workers, who lost their jobs during the lockdown and the reduction of GDP caused by the crisis.

The situation is particularly dire in low-income countries, who would need to spend nearly 16 per cent of their GDP to close the gap – around $80 billion, the policy brief reads.

Regionally, the relative burden of closing the gap is particularly high in Central and Western Asia, Northern Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, between 8 per cent and 9 per cent of their GDP. “Even before the Covid-19 crisis – the global community was failing to live up to the social protection legal and policy commitments it had made in the wake of the last global catastrophe – the 2008 financial crisis. “Closing the annual financing gap requires international resources based on global solidarity,” director of the ILO’s Social Protection Department Shahrashoub Razavi said.

Currently, only 45 per cent of the global population is effectively covered by at least one social protection benefit. The remaining population – more than 4 billion people – is completely unprotected. National and international measures to reduce the economic impact of the Covid-19 crisis have provided short-term financing assistance. Some countries have sought innovative sources to increase the fiscal space for extending social protection, like taxes on the trade of large tech companies, the unitary taxation of multinational companies, taxes on financial transactions or airline tickets. With austerity measures already emerging even with the crisis ongoing, these efforts are more pressing than ever, the study reads.

“Low-income countries must invest approximately $80 billion, nearly 16 per cent of their GDP, to guarantee at least basic income security and access to essential health care to all,” director of the ILO’s Social Protection Department Shahrashoub Razavi said, adding that domestic resources are not nearly enough. “Closing the annual financing gap requires international resources based on global solidarity.”

Mobilisation at the international level should complement national efforts, according to the ILO. International financial institutions and development cooperation agencies have already introduced several financial packages to help governments of developing countries tackle the various effects of the crisis but more resources are needed to close the financing gap, particularly in low-income countries.

ILO Child Labour Convention achieves universal ratification

For the first time in the ILO’s history, an International Labour Convention has been ratified by all member States. “Convention No 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour achieved universal ratification, following ratification by the Kingdom of Tonga,” confirmed a press note issued by the International Labour Organsation (ILO)
Ambassador for the Kingdom of Tonga Titilupe Fanetupouvava’u Tuivakano, formally deposited the ratification instruments with ILO director-general Guy Ryder today, it reads, adding that the Convention is the most rapidly ratified Convention in the history of the organisation, since its adoption 21 years ago by the International Labour Conference.
“Universal ratification of Convention 182 is an historic first that means that all children now have legal protection against the worst forms of child labour,” ILO director-general Guy Ryder said, adding that it reflects a global commitment that the worst forms of child labour including slavery, sexual exploitation, the use of children in armed conflict or other illicit or hazardous work that compromises children’s health, morals or psychological wellbeing, have no place in our society. “Universal ratification of Convention 182 is an historic first.”
Secretary-General of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Sharan Burrow welcomed the ratification. “Universal ratification of Convention 182 is a potent and timely reminder of the importance of ILO standards and the need for multilateral solutions to global problems,” she said, adding that child labour is a grievous violation of fundamental rights, and it is incumbent on the ILO’s constituents and the international community to ensure that this Convention is fully implemented, including through due diligence in global supply chains.
“The universal ratification of ILO Convention No 182 on the worst forms of child labour is an historic moment,” said secretary-general of the International Organisation of Employers (IoE) Roberto Suárez Santos. “Throughout the years, the IoE and its member organisations have supported the implementation of this Convention,” he said, adding that the business community is both aware of and acting on the need to do business with respect for children’s rights today. “This is even more urgent in the times of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
We cannot allow the fight against the worst form of child labour to backslide, he said, “Together we can work towards the end of child labour in all its forms.”
This universal ratification is a further step towards making more concrete the aspirations of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kailash Satyarthi, when he said, “I dream of a world full of safe children and safe childhoods; …I dream of a world where every child enjoys the freedom to be a child.”
The ILO estimates that there are 152 million children in child labour , some 73 million of whom are in hazardous work the ILO press note claimes, adding that seventy per cent of all child labour takes place in agriculture and is mostly related to poverty and parents’ difficulties finding decent work. “Convention No 182 calls for the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including slavery, forced labour and trafficking.” It also prohibits the use of children in armed conflict, prostitution, pornography and illicit activities such as drug trafficking, and in hazardous work.
It is one of the ILO’s eight Fundamental Conventions. These cover the abolition of child labour, the elimination of forced labour, the abolition of work-related discrimination and the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining. These principles are also covered by the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998).
Since the ILO’s founding in 1919, child labour has been a core concern. The organisation’s first director, Albert Thomas, described child labour as, “the exploitation of childhood which constitutes the evil… most unbearable to the human heart. Serious work in social legislation begins always with the protection of children.”
It is the focus of one of the ILO’s largest development cooperation programmes – the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour and Forced Labour (IPEC+), which has supported over 100 countries in all continents.
The incidence of child labour and its worst forms dropped by almost 40 per cent between 2000 and 2016, as ratification rates of Convention No 182 and Convention No 138 – on minimum age to work – increased, and countries adopted effective laws and policies.
However, progress has slowed in recent years, particularly amongst the youngest age group (5-11 years) and in some geographical areas. With the Covid-19 pandemic, there is a real risk that years of progress will be reversed, leading to a potential increase in child labour for the first time in 20 years, unless appropriate action is taken.
“Ending child labour by 2025 in all its forms” is included under Target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by all UN member states in 2015. The global partnership, Alliance 8.7, for which the ILO provides the secretariat, brings together over 250 partners and 21 Pathfinder Countries to coordinate, innovate and accelerate progress to end child labour, forced labour, human trafficking and modern slavery. The universal ratification of Convention No 182 demonstrates the will of all ILO member States to ensure that every child, everywhere, is free from child labour and its worst forms.
This landmark achievement comes just months before the start of the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour in 2021, to be led by the ILO in collaboration with partners. Its aim is to raise awareness of the issue and to help accelerate the pace of progress.

Protection of migrant workers key

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that protection of the most vulnerable, including the migrant workers and those in informal sectors, and provision of adequate social security and health care is key to minimise the impact of Covid-19.
Prime Minister oli – addressing virtual ‘Global Summit on Covid-19 and the World of Work: Building a Better Future of Work’ convened by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) today, he also said that the world economy has suffered a lot due to global decline in investment, trade and disruption in travel industry, which has thrown millions of workers and enterprise vulnerable. “The impact is unevenly high in the LDCs and low-income countries,” he said.
Expressing support to the human-centred agenda of decent work, he called for robust global response to the pandemic with United Nations (UN) and its specialised agencies like ILO at the centre.
Highlighting that the migrant workers are losing hopes and returning home in the midst of pandemic without protection of job and income, Prime Minister Oli said that this situation could have been avoided and norms of WHO should have been observed in the process.
“Humanity is tested in the time of crisis; our conscience should guide us to uphold justice and fairness even in the time of extreme difficulty,” he said, adding that international solidarity at this hour could prevent the job loss, return of migrant workers and reversal in the progress of SDG and resulting rise of poverty.
The Prime Minister underlined the efforts made by Nepal to the prevention and mitigation of the impact of Covid-19 pandemic. Highlighting the immediate and medium-term measures taken to the protection of workers in the formal and informal sectors and creation of sustainable employment opportunities, he expressed commitment to partnership and social dialogue at the national level and called for greater solidarity to address the situation globally.
The Global summit has brought together over 50 heads of the State and Government, prominent leaders of employers organisations and trade unions as well as heads of international organisations to discuss on the impact of Covid-19 in the employment and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of workers around the world.

ILO, NRNA seal Rs 51 million grant deal to help evacuate stranded Nepali migrant workers abroad

The International Labor Organisation (ILO) has today agreed to provide Rs 51 million grant to the Non-resident Nepali Association (NRNA) to rescue Nepali migrant workers from Malaysia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Saudi Arabia. They have been stranded in those labour destinations due to Covid-19 pandemic.
NRNA president Kumar Pant shared that an agreement has been signed between the ILO and NRNA. “We are pleased to share that the ILO under the United Nations has agreed with us to provide $4,24310 (equivalent to Rs 51 million) grant to NRNA," he said, adding that the grant will be utilised to rescue Nepali migrant workers stuck in Malaysia, UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia due to coronavirus outbreak. “The grant will also be used to study the impact of Covid-19 in labour market.”
The NRNA is coordinating with the Nepali diplomatic missions in Malaysia, UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to set up its separate offices to evacuate stranded Nepali migrant workers, according to Pant.

Livelihoods of more than 55 million domestic workers at risk due to Covid-19

Nearly three-quarters of domestic workers around the world – more than 55 million people – are at significant risk of losing their jobs and income due to lockdown and lack of effective social security coverage, according to new estimates by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
The vast majority – some 37 million – of these domestic workers are women. An assessment made at the beginning of June shows that the most affected region was Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with 76 per cent of domestic workers at risk, followed by the Americas (74 per cent) Africa (72 per cent) and Europe (45 per cent).
While domestic workers in both formal and informal employment have been affected, those in informal employment accounted for 76 per cent of those at risk of losing their jobs or working hours.
In countries with strict levels of lockdown, domestic workers, whether formally or informally employed, have been unable to go to work. But while some of those formally employed still had access to unemployment insurance, for domestic workers in informal employment staying home has meant losing their livelihoods with no safety net to fall back on, making it difficult for them to put food on the table.
The pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing issues. Only 10 per cent of domestic workers have access to social security, meaning no paid sick leave, guaranteed access to health care, employment injury benefits or unemployment insurance. Many domestic workers earn as little as 25 per cent of average wages, leaving them without savings in case of a financial emergency.
“The Covid-19 crisis  has exposed the particular vulnerability of informal domestic workers, emphasising the urgent need to ensure they are effectively included in labour and social protection” said ILO technical officer for Vulnerable Workers Claire Hobden said, adding that it disproportionately affects women who make up the vast majority of domestic workers worldwide.
In some regions domestic workers are predominantly migrants who rely on their pay to support their families in their countries of origin. Non-payment of wages and the closure of remittance services has left the families of migrant domestic workers at risk of poverty and hunger.
Live-in domestic workers have mostly continued to work, in confinement with their employers. However, reports suggest they have worked longer hours due to school closures and are carrying out more demanding cleaning tasks.
In other cases employers have stopped paying their live-in domestic workers, due to their own financial circumstances or a belief that domestic workers do not need their salaries since they cannot go out.
In some countries, where migrant domestic workers are required to live with their employers, some have been found on the streets after their employers dismissed them for fear of catching the virus. This puts them at risk of trafficking.
The ILO is working with domestic workers’ organisations and employers’ organisations to ensure the health and livelihoods of domestic workers. It is undertaking rapid assessments of the level and nature of the risks facing them, so that governments can devise policies that guarantee at least basic social security coverage, including access to essential health care and basic income security.
Twenty-nine countries have ratified ILO Convention 189 on decent work for domestic workers, which was adopted nine years ago by the International Labour Conference. Many more have taken concrete measures to extend labour and social protection coverage to domestic workers. The ILO has supported roughly sixty countries to close gaps in coverage.
While these measures have increased the number of domestic workers in formal employment, the overall rate of informality remains high. The ILO has called for efforts to formalise domestic work to be urgently accelerated in order to protect domestic workers from future shocks.

Covid-19 may push millions more children into child labour

Millions more children risk being pushed into child labour as a result of the Covid-19 crisis , which could lead to the first rise in child labour after 20 years of progress, according to a new brief from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and UNICEF.
According to ‘Covid-19 and child labour: A time of crisis, a time to act’, child labour decreased by 94 million since 2000, but that gain is now at risk. Global estimates in 2017 showed that 152 million children were in child labour worldwide.
Children already in child labour may be working longer hours or under worsening conditions, the report reads, adding that more of them may be forced into the worst forms of labour, which causes significant harm to their health and safety.
“As the pandemic wreaks havoc on family incomes, without support, many could resort to child labour," according to ILO director-general Guy Ryder. “Social protection is vital in times of crisis, as it provides assistance to those who are most vulnerable,” he said, adding that integrating child labour concerns across broader policies for education, social protection, justice, labour markets, and international human and labour rights makes a critical difference.
According to the brief, Covid-19 could result in a rise in poverty and therefore to an increase in child labour as households use every available means to survive. Some studies show that a one percentage point rise in poverty leads to at least a 0.7 per cent increase in child labour in certain countries.
“In times of crisis, child labour becomes a coping mechanism for many families,” said UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore. “As poverty rises, schools close and the availability of social services decreases, more children are pushed into the workforce,” Fore said, adding that as the world re-imagine the post-Covid scenario, we need to make sure that children and their families have the tools they need to weather similar storms in the future. “Quality education, social protection services and better economic opportunities can be game changers.”
Vulnerable population groups – such as those working in the informal economy and migrant workers – will suffer most from economic downturn, increased informality and unemployment, the general fall in living standards, health shocks and insufficient social protection systems, among other pressures.
Evidence is gradually mounting that child labour is rising as schools close during the pandemic. Temporary school closures are currently affecting more than 1 billion learners in over 130 countries. Even when classes restart, some parents may no longer be able to afford to send their children to school. As a result, more children could be forced into exploitative and hazardous jobs. Gender inequalities may grow more acute, with girls particularly vulnerable to exploitation in agriculture and domestic work, the brief read, proposing a number of measures to counter the threat of increased child labour, including more comprehensive social protection, easier access to credit for poor households, the promotion of decent work for adults, measures to get children back into school, including the elimination of school fees, and more resources for labour inspections and law enforcement.
ILO and UNICEF are developing a simulation model to look at the impact of Covid-19 on child labour globally. New global estimates on child labour will be released in 2021.

Plug social protection gaps in developing countries to prevent future crises: ILO

The Covid-19 crisis has exposed devastating gaps in social protection coverage in developing countries, and recovery will only be sustained and future crises prevented, if they can transform their ad hoc crisis response measures into comprehensive social protection systems, according to new analysis from the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
Two briefing papers released by the ILO warn that the current gaps in social protection could compromise recovery plans, expose millions to poverty, and affect global readiness to cope with similar crises in future.
The papers take a detailed look at the role of social protection measures in addressing the Covid9 outbreak in developing countries, including the provision of sickness benefits during the crisis.
The brief on Social protection responses to the Covid-19 pandemic in developing countries, describes social protection as, “an indispensable mechanism for delivering support to individuals during the crisis”. It examines the response measures some countries have introduced, including removing financial barriers to quality health care, enhancing income security, reaching out to workers in the informal economy, protecting incomes and jobs, and improving the delivery of social protection, employment and other interventions.
“While the virus does not discriminate between rich and poor, its effects are highly uneven”, the brief reads, adding that the ability to access affordable, quality, healthcare has become “a matter of life and death”.
The brief also warns policymakers to avoid a singular focus on Covid-19 because this could reduce the availability of health systems to respond to “other conditions that kill people every day”. It cites the example of how, during the Ebola epidemic, a focus on this virus exacerbated mortality from malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.
According to data in the brief, 55 per cent of the world’s population – as many as four billion people – are not covered by social insurance or social assistance. Globally, only 20 per cent of unemployed people are covered by unemployment benefits, and in some regions the coverage is much lower.
The other Social Protection Spotlight brief covers Sickness benefits during sick leave and quarantine: Country responses and policy considerations in the context of Covid-19. “While the virus does not discriminate between rich and poor, its effects are highly uneven [...] The ability to access affordable, quality, healthcare has become 'a matter of life and death'.”
It warns that the Covid-19 health crisis has exposed two main adverse effects of gaps in sickness benefit coverage. Firstly, such protection gaps can force people to go to work when they are sick or should self-quarantine, so increasing the risk of infecting others. Secondly, the related loss of income increases the risk of poverty for workers and their families, which could have a lasting impact.
The brief calls for urgent, short-term measures to close sickness benefit coverage and adequacy gaps, pointing out that this would bring a three-fold benefit: support for public health, poverty prevention, and promotion of the human rights to health and social security.
The proposed measures include extending sickness benefit coverage to all, with particular attention given to reaching women and men in non-standard and informal employment, the self-employed, migrants and vulnerable groups. Other recommendations include increasing benefit levels to ensure they provide income security, speeding up benefit delivery, and expanding the scope of benefits to include prevention, diagnosis and treatment measures, as well as time spent in quarantine or on the care of sick dependents.
“The Covid-19 crisis is a wake-up call. It has shown that a lack of social protection affects not just the poor, it exposes the vulnerability of those who have been getting by relatively well, because medical charges and loss of income can easily destroy decades of family work and saving,” said the director of the ILO’s Social Protection Department Shahra Razavi. “The examples from around the world clearly demonstrate once again that countries with robust and comprehensive social protection systems are in a much stronger position to respond to, and recover from, a crisis,” he said, adding that policymakers need to build on the momentum generated by growing public awareness of the importance of social protection and the urgency of investing in it as a society, to ensure preparedness for future crises.

Covid-19 causes devastating losses in working hours and employment: ILO

The Covid-19 crisis is expected to wipe out 6.7 per cent of working hours globally in the second quarter of 2020, equivalent to 195 million full-time workers.
Large reductions are foreseen in the Arab States (8.1 per cent, equivalent to 5 million full-time workers), Europe (7.8 per cent, or 12 million full-time workers) and Asia and the Pacific (7.2 per cent, 125 million full-time workers), according to the Internal Labour Organisation (ILO).
“Huge losses are expected across different income groups but especially in upper-middle income countries – 7 per cent or 100 million full-time workers – it said, adding that this far exceeds the effects of the 2008-9 financial crisis. “The sectors most at risk include accommodation and food services, manufacturing, retail, and business and administrative activities.”
The eventual increase in global unemployment during 2020 will depend substantially on future developments and policy measures. There is a high risk that the end-of-year figure will be significantly higher than the initial ILO projection, of 25 million.
More than four out of five people – 81 per cent – in the global workforce of 3.3 billion are currently affected by full or partial workplace closures. “Workers and businesses are facing catastrophe, in both developed and developing economies,” ILO director-general Guy Ryder said, adding that they have to move fast, decisively, and together. “The right, urgent, measures, could make the difference between survival and collapse.”
The ILO Monitor second edition: Covid-19 and the world of work , which describes Covid-19 as ‘the worst global crisis since World War II’, updates an ILO research note published on March 18. However, the updated version includes sectoral and regional information on the effects of the pandemic.
According to the new study, some 1.25 billion workers are employed in the sectors identified as being at high risk of ‘drastic and devastating’ increases in layoffs and reductions in wages and working hours. “Many are in low-paid, low-skilled jobs, where a sudden loss of income is devastating.”
Looked at regionally, the proportion of workers in these ‘at risk’ sectors varies from 43 per cent in the Americas to 26 per cent in Africa. Some regions, particularly Africa, have higher levels of informality, which combined with a lack of social protection, high population density and weak capacity, pose severe health and economic challenges for governments, the report cautions.
Worldwide, two billion people work in the informal sector – mostly in emerging and developing economies – and are particularly at risk.
Large-scale, integrated, policy measures are needed, focusing on four pillars: supporting enterprises, employment and incomes; stimulating the economy and jobs; protecting workers in the workplace; and, using social dialogue between government, workers and employers to find solutions, the study reads.
“This is the greatest test for international cooperation in more than 75 years,” Ryder said, adding, “If one country fails, then we all fail.”
“We must find solutions that help all segments of our global society, particularly those that are most vulnerable or least able to help themselves,” he said, adding that the choices we make today will directly affect the way this crisis unfolds and so the lives of billions of people. “With the right measures we can limit its impact and the scars it leaves. We must aim to build back better so that our new systems are safer, fairer and more sustainable than those that allowed this crisis to happen.”

Ex-Gurkhas to launch international human rights campaign

The agitating British Gurkha ex-servicemen announced to launch an international human rights campaign, if the British government does not take any initiatives to address their grievances related to pension parity and compensation for the injustice meted out to them.
Issuing an 11-point Kathmandu Declaration at the conclusion of the two-day National Symposium on Human Rights Movement and Dignity of ex-British Gurkhas, organised jointly by the British Gurkha Community and Nepali Society members including academics and youth students in Kathmandu, they also urged the governments of Nepal and Britain to promptly start dialogue over the Report of Technical Committee that comprises UK envoy to Nepal, Minister of Defense (UK) and representatives of British Gurkha ex-servicemen associations. “The government of Nepal shall be requested to recognise the report, introduced on 15 March 2019 by International Relations Committee of the federal parliament, as a guiding instrument,” the Declaration reads, calling for appointing one of the members of International Relations Committee of the federal parliament as a coordinator and a representative of legal professional, who has gained expertise through continued engagement in research about the issue of Gurkha servicemen, representative of civil society, and representative of ex-servicemen community as members.
The agitating British Gurkha ex-servicemen, on the occasion also announced to launch an international human rights campaign, if the British government does not heed their concerns. The movement, according to the Kathmandu Declaration, will draw attention of the UN Human Rights Council toward the injustice and discrimination perpetrated against the Gurkha ex-servicemen by following the process of Universal Periodic Review and conduct special study and make adequate preparation for the utilisation of the ILO mechanism.
The movement will also prepare for utilising other human rights instruments that may include the jurisdiction of Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) and Human Rights Committee and utilise the jurisdiction of International Court of Justice, according to the Declaration.
In respect of those soldiers, who had lost their lives, injured, disappeared, or made redundant or dismissed from service as a result of unfair prosecution during and after first and second World Wars and also other subsequent wars, the Declaration reads, urging the government to immediately start dialogues with the British government, equipping itself with facts and evidences. It has proposed constituting a specialised taskforce under the coordination of the member of the International Relations Committee of the federal parliament and also form a separate Research and Study Committee comprised of experts and representatives of Gurkha ex-servicemen.
The British Gurkha ex-servicemen claims that Nepal can receive around Rs 120 billion in compensation. The British government is ready to compensate British Gurkha ex-servicemen Rs 120 billion – one time – and pay Rs 37 billion pension annually, the coordinator of the British Gurkha Satyagraha United Struggle Committee Krishna Kumar Rai said, urging the Nepal government to strike a government-to-government deal at the earliest to claim the amount. “Delay in bilateral talks between Nepal and British governments will worsen the situation as the agitating British Gurkha ex-servicemen will again start protest nationally and internationally.”
According to Rai, the incumbent Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had – during the meeting at his official residence in Baluwater with them immediately after he became Premier – committed to hold bilateral talks but could not walk the talk.
He also demanded British Government to compensate immediately – as has been promised according to British Minister of State for the Armed Forces Mark Lancaster report – for all types of discrimination and injustice imposed on Gurkha Ex-Servicemen and on their families since last 2 century.
Ex-Gurkhas have demanded prompt dialogue between the Nepal and British governments on the report prepared by the technical committee that comprises of the ambassador of Nepal for UK, minister of defence (UK) and representatives from British Gurkha ex-servicemen’s associations, which was established to address the concerns raised by the British Gurkhas ex-servicemen. For this purpose, the government will be requested to recognise the British Minister of State for the Armed Forces Mark Lancaster’s report introduced on March 15 by the International Relation Committee of the Federal Parliament of Nepal, as a guiding instrument.
Rai also asked the British government to compensate families of those, who lost their lives in the past wars and introduce a system under which the Sterling Pound shall directly be transferred from UK banks to the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) unlike the current system that routes their money through Indian banks.
Imposition of Indian Pay Code on British Gurkhas after 1948, which came in the name of Tripartite Agreement 1947, but with mutual understanding between India and Britain, was absolutely unfair, against the sovereignty and independence of Nepal and incompatible with international laws, the Declaration reads, adding, “With respect to the injustice perpetrated against the ex-servicemen serving in the Gurkha Reserve Unit (GRU), Brunei, and against the Nepali nationals serving as police personnel in Singapore Police (SP) Force, the national conference asked the government to initiate a prompt dialogue with the respective governments of Brunei and Singapore so that the entire emolument entitled by personnel serving in GRU and SP shall be paid properly and bring the practice of giving a middlemen and managerial role to British Government on the recruitment and management of Nepali nationals in GRU and SP to an end.”
Currently, the Britist Army is deployed in Brunei and Singapore but the conference asked the government to take an initiation to sign a bilateral agreement with the governments of Brunei and the government of Singapore to continue further recruitment of the Nepali citizens in GRU and SP directly.
The agitating British Gurkha ex-servicemen have been claiming that thousands of them have been victimised by hardship and destitution as a result of discriminatory and unjust treatment continuously perpetrated by the British Government from 1948 to 1997.
“It is a matter of tremendous regret to witness the fact that,” the declaration read.
Struggle for equality and dignity spearheaded by ex-Gurkhas against discriminatory and unfair treatment will continue at national as well as international levels in the form of patriotic movement, and a campaign dedicated to human rights and dignity of Nepali citizens who served and have been serving in British Army, will be launched as stated in the declaration.
According to the Declaration, by following the process of Universal Periodic Review, it may draw the attention of the UN Human Right Council towards the injustice and discrimination against Gurkha ex-servicemen and their families. “In order to provide adequate compensation to the family of those soldiers, who had lost their lives during wars, the government must start dialogue with the Britain,” they said.

New international labour standard to combat violence, harassment

The International Labour Conference  (ILC) has today adopted a new Convention and accompanying Recommendation to combat violence and harassment in the world of work.
The Violence and Harassment Convention-2019, and Violence and Harassment Recommendation-2019 were adopted by delegates on the final day of the Centenary International Labour Conference, in Geneva. For the Convention, 439 votes were cast in favour, seven against, with 30 abstentions. The Recommendation was passed with 397 votes in favour, 12 votes against and 44 abstentions.
The Convention recognises that violence and harassment in the world of work ‘can constitute a human rights violation or abuse…is a threat to equal opportunities, is unacceptable and incompatible with decent work.’ It defines ‘violence and harassment’ as behaviours, practices or threats ‘that aim at, result in, or are likely to result in physical, psychological, sexual or economic harm.’ It reminds member states that they have a responsibility to promote a “general environment of zero tolerance”.
The new international labour standard aims to protect workers and employees, irrespective of their contractual status, and includes persons in training, interns and apprentices, workers whose employment has been terminated, volunteers, job seekers and job applicants. It recognises that “individuals exercising the authority, duties or responsibilities of an employer” can also be subjected to violence and harassment.
“The new standards recognise the right of everyone to a world of work free from violence and harassment,” according to the ILO director-general Guy Ryder. “The standard covers violence and harassment occurring in the workplace; places where a worker is paid, takes a rest or meal break, or uses sanitary, washing or changing facilities; during work-related trips, travel, training, events or social activities; work-related communications (including through information and communication technologies), in employer-provided accommodation; and when commuting to and from work,” he said, Welcoming the adoption, that recognises that violence and harassment may involve third parties, Ryder said that the new standards recognise the right of everyone to a world of work free from violence and harassment. “The next step is to put these protections into practice, so that we create a better, safer, decent, working environment for women and men.”
The Convention will enter into force 12 months after two member States have ratified it. The Recommendation, which is not legally binding, provides guidelines on how the Convention could be applied.
This is the first new Convention agreed by the International Labour Conference since 2011, when the Domestic Workers Convention- 2011 (No. 189) was adopted. Conventions are legally binding international instruments, while Recommendations provide advice and guidance.
The ILO, the UN’s agency dealing with world of work issues, is marking its 100th year in 2019.
The Centenary ILC – the 108th meeting of the Conference – was attended by more than 5,700 delegates, representing governments, workers and employers from the ILO’s 187 member States. The Conference is also expected to adopt a landmark ILO Centenary Declaration, focused on a human-centred approach to the future of work.

Gender pay gap in Nepal narrowing in a decade

Though, there is still a wide disparity in payment between male and female workers in Nepal, it has been narrowing down since a decade.
According to a Labour Force Survey 2019, Nepali women earn 29.45 per cent less than their male counterparts on an average, even if the level of education among both the genders is the same. But the Labour Force Survey in 2008 had revealed that the monthly female earning was 40.5 per cent less than what their male counterparts used to earn at the time.
Director at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Nepal Richard Howard, said that the gender pay gap, though a global issue, is comparatively higher in Nepal owing to deeply rooted discrimination between men and women in Nepali society. “The global average gender pay gap is 20 per cent, while it is almost 30 per cent in Nepal,” he said, suggesting Nepal to reduce the gender pay gap by strictly enforcing legal provisions that guarantee equal treatment between males and females in all fronts. “The government, related organisations, society and the entire country should fight against such gender discrimination.”
According to the latest Labour Force Survey 2019 – conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) – the male workers in Nepal with tertiary education – education beyond the higher secondary level – earn Rs 28,341 per month on an average, whereas female workers with the same level of education earns only Rs 19,993 on an average monthly.
The report also revealed that the gender pay gap exists at all levels of education, from those workers who have acquired early childhood education to those with bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degrees. “On an average, male workers who have completed bachelor’s or equivalent degree are earning Rs 25,636 per month, some 29 per cent more than women with the same education level, who are earning only Rs 18,200 per month,” the report reads, adding that monthly average income of male workers with master’s degree stands at Rs 32,250, while female workers with the same degree have been earning only Rs 24,733 per month, some 23 per cent less than their male counterparts.
Likewise, female workers with doctorate degree are paid 5.7 per cent less than their male counterparts. “While female workers with doctorate earn Rs 34,723, their male counterparts with the same education earn Rs 36,831 a month on average.”
There is a huge gender pay gap in Nepal and across the world primarily because of the deeply rooted patriarchal spirit in society, which falsely assumes that men are physically and mentally ahead of women. The gender pay gap is the result of many factors including occupational segregation, bias against working mothers and direct pay discrimination, according to the ILO. Likewise, according to a recent report by Oxfam India, women in India get nearly one-third or 34 per cent less wages than men.
According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), the 2016 Global Gender Index (GGI) revealed that Nepal ranks 110th out of 144 countries on gender parity. “Nepal score for GGI index is 0.661, with 1 representing gender parity,” it stated, adding that the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) Gender Inequality Index (GII) gave Nepal a score of 0.497 in 2015 with 0 representing equality. “In GII – which measures reproductive health, empowerment and economic status – Nepal ranks 115th out of 188 countries for gender equality,” according to the UNDP.
Likewise, United Nations Women (UN Women) revealed that Nepal ranks 110th out of 145 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI). 

Nepal, UAE sign labour agreement

Nepal and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) today signed labour agreement. Labour Minister Gokarna Bista and Human Resource Minister of UAE Nasser Thani Al Hamli signed the agreement – during the centenary celebration of the International Labor Organisation (ILO) being held in Geneva in Switzerland – on behalf of their respective governments.
According to the new deal, the employers will have to bear all the expenses for selection and recruitment of workers as per the agreement. “The workers can look for alternative jobs, if they become unemployed due to weaknesses on the part of employers,” it reads, adding that there will be no discrimination against workers on wage, overtime, work environment and access to justice, apart from equal treatment for migrant workers coming from all the countries. “Workers will be able to keep all the documents of individual identity including passports.”
The UAE is the fourth preferred destination for Nepali workers. The two countries have felt the need to revise the agreement according to the changed context.

Nepal, Mauritius sign labour deal

Nepal and Mauritius today signed a labour deal on the sidelines of the ILO Centenary Conference in Geneva, Switzerland – to facilitate the flow of Nepali migrant workers to the Sub Saharan African island nation – in the the presence of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
The agreement – signed by Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security Gokarna Bista and Mauritius Minister for Labour, Industrial Relations, Employment and Training Soodesh Satkam Callichurn – commits that both the country will employ workers in accordance to the principles of transparency, ethical recruitment, fairness and mutual benefit. “
According to the pact, all the costs and fees for recruitment shall be borne by the employer, including the fees paid to the recruitment agencies in Nepal. “Nepali migrant labourers in Mauritius will be employed in the hospitality, hotel and manufacturing sectors; recruited persons will get a minimum wage equal to that of Mauritians, which is about $240, and no worker will be discriminated based on wages, compensation, work environment, overtime and access to justice,” it reads.
Likewise, the agreement also reads that Mauritius employers will incur all the travel and other costs of Nepali workers under ‘Employer Pays Principle’, which includes fees to recruitment agencies, travel expenses, work permits, insurance fees, medical expenses and other expenses incurred during the recruitment process.
Similarly, the employer will also bear expenses in the event of death and repatriation of the body and the last rites involved, with the consent of deceased persons’ families, the provisions of the Nepal-Mauritius Labour Agreement, reads, adding that the workers have the right to judicial remedy at ‘no cost’, along with allowing them to apply for visa and get temporary employment even when a case is sub judice – under judicial consideration but prohibited from public discussion. “Through the MoU, both countries have expressed their commitment to control and regulate the practice of charging workers unnecessary fees while going for employment.”
The Nepal-Mauritius labour pact also includes leave for workers in the event of family members’ death, emergency insurance coverage, medical treatment in accordance with Mauritius laws, one month gratuity for each year of employment and employment certificate on return to Nepal after completion of work experience. “Both the countries shall cooperate to address issues of irregular and/or illegal recruitment of workers as well as matters relating to trafficking and forced labour.”
Workers shall have the ability to change jobs legally in case the employer does not abide by the contractual obligations or a business shuts down, the agreement reads, adding, “In such cases, the worker shall have the right to return to Nepal if he or she so desires and the employer will have to bear all associated costs. The agreement also has provisions for proper monitoring of timely payment of wages and other benefits.”
Likewise, a Joint Working Group will be set up to ensure proper implementation of the pact and to determine other key items associated with the workers’ recruitment, employment and repatriation, including mutual skills recognition, insurance coverage amount. Medical treatment and insurance for workplace injury shall be provided as per the laws of Mauritius, the pact reads.
The labour pact is the government’s effort to expand the number of job destinations for Nepalis seeking foreign employment, though the government has been claiming to create employment in the country. The government has also started the Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP) to create the employment, which according to the experts the gross misuse of the tax payers money.