Outsourcers shut down businesses in protest of bomb explosion at Gurung's house

Protesting the recent bomb explosion at the house – that damaged car and some parts of the ground floor of the house – of chairperson of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA) Rohan Gurung the outsourcers today closed their businesses across the country.
Over eleven hundred manpower agencies have closed their businesses across the country today in protest of the bomb explosion, according to the association that has also demanded the government to ensure professional security.
They are assembling at NAFEA chairperson Gurung's Basundhara-based house in the capital today afternoon to discuss the latest scenario. "We are feeling insecure to run our businesses," Gurung, whose car was totally destroyed and door and windows on the ground floor of his house had sustained damages, said, adding that they are discussing the future strategy.
The Netra Bikram Chand-led Maoist has already claimed the responsibility of the bombing.

Manpower drain on rise

The percentage of Nepali workers going abroad for foreign employment surged by 12.5 cent in the fiscal year 2007-08.
Department of Labour and Employment Promotion (DoLEP) granted exit approval to 2,41,100 workers in 2007-08. It had granted approval to 2,14,400 workers the previous fiscal year.
Qatar, Malaysia, UAE and Saudi Arabia werethe top four countries absorbing Nepali workers. Qatar alone absorbed 84,500 Nepali workers, showing an increase of 42.9 per cent over last fiscal year. This is nearly 35 per cent of the total foreign employment, according to Nepal Rastra Bank’s data.
“The agencies might have got more demands from Qatar,” DoLEP director general Keshar Bahadur Baniya said adding that the trend was changing according to demands from various countries.
Qatar was followed by Malaysia (49,600), UAE (44,100) and Saudi Arabia (42,300). Qatar became the top destination for foreign employment in 2007-08. Malaysia was the top destination till last year. This year, it slid down to second position because of the difficult working conditions there.DoLEP said the total number of workers going abroad for foreign employment exceeded 1.2 million till 2007-08. The number of migrant workers leaving for various destinations also increased by 27.23 per cent in the month of Shrawan compared to that last Shrawan. According to DoLEP, “A total of 23,130 workers left for various destinations in Shrawan.”
Around 400,000 Nepalis are working in Malaysia in construction, manufacturing and agriculture sectors. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) received 3,446 in the month of Shrawan compared to 3,093 last Shrawan, an increase of 11 per cent. Bahrain also received a significant number of Nepali workers — 700 persons, DoLEP said.

Ranabhat NAFEA president

The 16th AGM of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA) on Saturday elected Tilak Bahadur Ranabhat of Noor Opportunities Overseas Pvt Ltd as its president for the next two-year term. Ranabhat got 161 votes against his nearest rival Madan Khadka of who got 131 votes.
Som Lal Bataju of SOS Manpower Service Pvt Ltd was elected first vice-president with 159 votes. Similarly, Bal Bahadur Tamang of Sky Overseas Pvt Ltd was elected the second vice-president and Kamal Dev Malla of Third Eye Overseas Concern Pvt Ltd was elected the third vice-president and Gyan Prasad Gaire of Rara Employment Pvt Ltd was elected the general secretary. The new executive committee of 17 members were elected on Saturday after the AGM on Friday.
Foreign employment — the source of remittance — has been a major job opportunity for Nepali youths due to lack of job opportunities back home. The flow of remittances rose by 18 per cent in Nepal, during the first half of current fiscal year 2007-08 and touched the total amount to Rs 57 billion as of mid-January 2008. Nepal had received Rs 48.26 billion during the same period in the previous fiscal year.
The sector is, however, marred by various issues like lack of professionalism, labour law, security of labours and the manpower agencies' credibility. Ranabhat has vowed to make this profession more dignified.

India is top remittance receiver
India is the top receiver of remittances from abroad in 2007, followed by China and Mexico, according to the World Bank's Migration and Remittances Fact book 2008. The top five recipients of migrant remittances in 2007 were India ($27 billion), China ($25.7 billion), Mexico ($25 billion), the Philippines ($17 billion) and France ($12.5 billion), according to the fact book.