By Xinhua
Kathmandu : With the growing concern over the safety of Nepali workers employed in foreign countries, Nepal has planned to raise the issues during the fourth Conference of Asian Labour Ministers to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next week.
Nepal’s Minister for Labour and Transport Management Ramesh Lekhak is leading the Nepali delegation to the Jan 21-22 conference in Abu Dhabi.
“Our concern will mainly focus on the rights and safety of migrant workers in host countries,” the online portal eKantipur quoted Bishnu Lamsal, joint secretary of the labour ministry, as saying.
Lamsal said Nepal would urge the labour recipient countries to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the source country to ensure safety for migrant workers.
Around 1.5 million Nepali workers have been hired in many Asian countries. Lamsal said many workers have been cheated or overcharged by various job agencies.
He said Nepal would seek ways to eliminate such intermediaries to reduce the cost of getting jobs for Nepali workers. The government will also support for better wages and working conditions at par with the International Labour Organisation.
The number of Nepali workers leaving for overseas jobs during the past five months, ending Dec 15, grew by 35 percent.
According to the department of labour and employment promotion, 91,518 Nepali citizens travelled abroad for work during the period. More than 95 percent of them headed to Qatar, Malaysia, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
More than 20 labour importing and exporting countries are taking part in the two-day conference.