JICA to support programme for elevating international migrants

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) today signed a Record of Discussions with the government for the ‘Project on Career Development and Entrepreneurship Support Programme for International Migrants’, a technical cooperation project.

The project will be implemented for Career Development and Entrepreneurship Support Programme of the returnee migrants from Japan aiming at enhancing their information access and developing their capacity so that the industrial development of Nepal can be promoted, according to a press note issued by the JICA. The project adopts a demand-driven approach that supports returnee migrants, who want to acquire skills and competencies and further implement their acquired knowledge for establishing a productive business/career in Nepal eventually contributing to the economic development of Nepal, it reads, adding that the project intends to fulfill Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Goal 8 ‘Decent Work & Economic Growth.’

The project plans to appoint mentors who continuously provide training to the returnees recipients for enhancing their capacity in career planning and entrepreneurship throughout the migration flow (pre -migration, while-in Japan and after returning).

The total period of the project is five years  from 2023 to 2027 and the Implementing Agency for the project is Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MoLESS), Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) and Foreign Employment Board (FEB), the press note of the Japanese development agency further reads.

Nepali workers to resume to go Malaysia for foreign employment

The agreement between Nepal and Malaysia today has re-opened the prospect for Nepali migrant workers to go to Malaysia for foreign employment, though after a long gap.
The joint working group (JWG) meeting of officials from both the countries which began in Kuala Lumpur of Malaysia on September 10, has reached an agreement to open the channel for Nepali workers to go to Malaysia for employment, confirmed the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MoLESS). “We agreed to resume the stalled process of labour supply from Nepal to Malaysia,” the ministry official said.
Earlier, the meeting was expected to facilitate and give momentum to the stalled process of labour supply to Malaysia. Authorities from the two governments signed a 10-point deal after the conclusion of a two-day meeting of the JWG in the Malaysian capital.
Although both the countries had reached a bilateral labour agreement in October, some technical issues remained to be finalised, which has delayed the resumption of the Nepali migrant workers to Malaysia. The October agreement between Nepal and Malaysia had relieved Nepali workers of all expenses, including recruitment service charges, airfare, visa fees, medical check-ups and security screening costs, all of which Malaysia-bound workers were required to pay earlier. But the agreement has yet to be implemented due to various hurdles, including one related to the medical examination of outbound workers.
The Malaysian government is now ready to address the issue of medical test, which was one of the contesting issues between the two sides, the ministry said, adding that Nepal has agreed to resume medical tests through existing 36 health institutions. “Out of 122 listed institutions, remaining 86 will be soon approved.”
The Malaysian team will also visit Nepal in November to finalise some remaining technical details. According to the agreement, the Malaysian team will inspect 86 health institutions – out of 122 enlisted by the Nepal government – to include them on a list of authorised medical examination facilities.
A seven-member team from Nepal – that went to Kuala Lumpur – is led by head of Labour Relation and Social Protection Section at the ministry Ram Prasad Ghimire, and comprises representatives from the Foreign Ministry, Law Ministry and Nepali Embassy in Malaysia. The supply of Nepali migrant workers to Malaysia has been halted since last May after the government cracked down on Immigration Security Clearance and One Stop Centre that had been levying additional charges on Nepali migrants.
Malaysia has been one of the preferred labour destinations for Nepali migrant workers until the government imposed a ban – after its findings that Malaysia-bound workers were forced to pay additional money illegally for a private Malaysian company established in Kathmandu – on its citizens going to Malaysia for jobs fifteen months ago.
Malaysia’s closure has also reflected in the country’s foreign employment sector as the number of workers migrating abroad dwindled significantly last year. In the fiscal year 2018-19, some 42,146 Nepali workers left for work in Malaysia. The falling number of Nepali migrant workers to Malaysia is going to bleed the remittance inflow sooner than later.
Despite the announcement of resumption of the recruitment process, officials of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA) said that it is likely to take a few more months before workers start leaving for jobs. 

Ministry finalises medical firms for health check-up of Malaysia-bound Nepalis

The government has finalised some 99 health check-up centres for Nepali migrant workers going to Malaysia on the basis of the Malaysian government’s new health standard guideline that clarifies the medical requirements for migrant workers. But these centres will have to receive authentication from the Malaysian government before they can start different biometric works targeting Malaysia-bound Nepali workers.
These medical firms will have to wait for official authorisation from the Malaysian government, according to the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MoLESS) that has claimed that the Malaysian government will soon authenticate these selected firms.
After the authentication by the Malaysian government, it is expected to help resume the flow of Nepali migrant workers to Malaysia, added the ministry that had stopped sending workers to Malaysia since last May after it cracked down on Immigration Security Clearance and One Stop Centre, which were levying additional charges on Nepali migrants for obtaining health certificates.
Though, the government move is blamed to have been motivated by the political differences as those health centres were related to the opposition party Nepali Congress (NC) representatives’ relatives, the ministry has been claiming that they have been charging extra charges. The dispute has, however, completely halted the outflow of Nepali migrant workers to South Eastern country that tops the chart as the most favoured destination.
Likewise, the government has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the bilateral labour pact with Malaysian government last October, the process to send Nepali migrant workers to Malaysia has not resumed yet.

Government calls unemployed to apply for jobs

The government has sought applications for Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP). Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MoLESS) – issuing a public notice today – said that job aspirants need to apply for the jobs before April 13.
According to the notice, job aspirants need to submit their applications at the local level. "The government will guarantee jobs for a minimum of 100 days to those who are unemployed," the notice reads, adding that the programme – unveiled by prime minister KP Sharma Oli on February 13 – will also ensure that all the unemployed people will get 50 per cent of the minimum wage that it has set if they remain unemployed for 100 days and none of their family members are employed for a year.
The government had set a monthly minimum wage of Rs 13,450 for workers on July 9 last year. Hence, such families will receive Rs 22,417 annually 50 per cent of the government-set minimum wage for 100 days. According to the ministry, it has allocated a budget of Rs 3.5 billion for the programme for the current fiscal year.
Earlier, the ministry had opened applications for the post of employment coordinator in all 753 local levels of the seven provinces through an online system. But the government has selected employment coordinators for 232 local levels only as none of the candidates in remaining local levels were able to pass the initial computer based examination. The government has also established Employment Service Centres at all local bodies to collect data of unemployed youths.
The employment coordinator will work to collect data of the unemployed persons at the local level, update and provide identity cards to the listed unemployed people. It will also facilitate employment opportunities for them while making recommendations for various kinds of skills-oriented training programmes.
Under the ambitious Prime Minister Employment Programme, the government will deploy the unemployed youths in government identified sectors like agriculture, tourism, construction, transportation, energy and power, forest and environment.