National
Migrant Resource Centre in operation after years
The Foreign Employment Promotion Board has finally brought the Migrant Workers’ Resource Centre into operation nearly six years after its establishment.The Foreign Employment Promotion Board has finally brought the Migrant Workers’ Resource Centre into operation nearly six years after its establishment. The centre, which was inaugurated in October last year, started providing foreign employment-related information and counselling services from February 29.
Despite high importance of pre-departure orientation and counselling on the migration process, the government has paid little attention to them. Pre-departure orientation, a two-day class that aspirant workers are required to attend, has also proved completely ineffective owing to a number of factors including the lack of need-based information.
Many workers find it comfortable to buy the certificate instead of attending the class that they consider nothing more than a formality. This has compelled potential migrants to reach the work destination without basic information about the work place, nature of the job, and culture and environment of the new land.
Rights groups and recruiting agencies have long been criticising the board for doing nothing for migrants despite amassing nearly Rs3.5 billion from them.
The government, in collaboration with various donor agencies, has also been running resource centres in around 30 districts to benefit foreign job seekers.
Foreign employment experts say that the lack of proper information and counselling is the main cause of increasing cases of fraud and human trafficking. Many even believe that proper
orientation, counselling and training would help curb cases of suicide, and road and workplace accidents, major causes of the deaths of Nepalis in the Gulf and Malaysia.